


The Other Approach

by CrystalRebellion



Category: Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984)
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Haggar is snarky, Lotor doesn't know how to be nice but he tries, Lotor is a hero, Rescue, dotu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2019-06-09 06:14:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15261180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalRebellion/pseuds/CrystalRebellion
Summary: After countless failures to kidnap, capture or otherwise marry Allura, Lotor turns an exasperated and desperate ear to Haggar. The witch suggests an unusual approach to winning the princess over: woo her. Out of ideas, Lotor agrees and when his father gravely injures the princess in combat, he gets his chance to try.  (Lotor x Allura) (Fluff) (DotU)





	1. Chapter 1

Allura's body ached. An exhale left her lips as her eyes fluttered open. It took her a moment, but she quickly recognized she wasn't inside her lion's cockpit anymore. With a gasp of alarm she started to sit up, only to be met with a splitting pain to her left side.

"Oh no, you mustn't," a voice over her left shoulder said. Allura's head snapped over to look at a kind young woman sitting on the edge of the bed beside her.

She blinked at the strange human.  Her hair was dark with beautiful emerald green eyes. "You must rest," she urged the princess.

Allura relaxed a little, glancing around her surroundings.

"Where am I?"

"I pulled you from your lion when our little ship found it crashed on an asteroid. You were badly injured. I've wrapped your wounds but you must rest for at least a little longer," the woman said, touching the place where Allura's ribs were bandaged.

"Thank you," the princess replied earnestly. She appeared to be lying in a captain's quarters for a merchant-class vessel. The bed was large and comfortable, but not particularly lavish. Glass windows revealed the stars outside as the ship moved gently through space.

She lifted the covers to look down at herself, gasping at the sight of her bandaged torso. Her flight suit was stained red from her chest to her hips.

"Oh my!"

"Yes, you were severely wounded. When we saw your ship, we send a distress call to your castle to alert your team, but we were worried you wouldn't make it before they got to you, so we collected you. We're on an automatic route to a trade center, but after, we can drop you by Arus. I believe your team has already gathered your lion," the merchant woman explained.

"Thank goodness," Allura sighed. "And thank you for your kindness. I remember being struck by something and having my controls knocked out, but I don't remember much else."

"Here, child," she said, offering a pill and a glass of water to the weakened princess. "This will help with the pain. Please try not to strain yourself. Your wound only just closed. It could reopen easily," she explained as Allura sat up very carefully to take the medicine.

"Thank you," Allura murmured one last time, grateful for the generosity the traveling tradesmen had shown her. She relaxed into the pillows with a sigh, the exhaustion from the vicious battle against Zarkon finally catching up with her.

"Rest," the woman patted her hand and rose to her feet, walking out of the room and turning out the lights as the princess fell back asleep, faint threads of unanswered questions drowning out in her weakness.

* * *

_"Keith!" Allura's cry of alarm turned into a scream as her lion was shocked with an artillery blast. An explosion sounded over her shoulder. Pushing off the ground, she flew back into combat. Zarkon was trying a new approach - instead of one super robeast, he had unleashed five smaller ones on the team._

_Keith had advised a lion formation rather than unification to better handle multiple targets. The battle had been in progress for hours, but slowly the Voltron force was gaining the upper hand. The Drule king had lured them into empty space and pulled them out of reach of the castle's defense systems, yielding no cover fire for the Force._

_"My altimeter is down, Keith. I won't have my bearings," Allura said as she watched her controls spark and fizzle in front of her. "Everything else seems fine - proton darts!"_

_Blue Lion unleashed a flurry of missiles at one of the miniature beasts. As it howled and turned to face her, Allura saw the large cannon it was holding._

_"Princess!"_

_The screen in front of her exploded as the large blast struck her lion head on. She could feel the machine spinning around her before crashing into the ground, launching her out of her seat. With no screen and no electronic bearings, she had no idea where in space relative to the fight she had landed._

_Allura's fear hitched. She was flying blind._

_She scrambled to the dash as Keith cut in again._

_"Princess, do you copy? Say something!"_

_"I'm here, Keith! I'm... totally down though. My on-board navs are shot and my visuals have been disabled. How is the fight going?"_

_"We're turning it around. Lance got the one that shot you, and now it's four on four. You take it easy, we'll get you when we can," Keith finished, cutting off._

_Allura screamed and grabbed onto her chair for support as another blast rocked her lion. An explosion in the center of her dash went off, knocking her to the ground._

_She slumped against the wall of her lion, feeling her breathing slow._

**_Warm._ **

_Something felt warm._

_Glancing down, she saw a piece of metal from her control panel protruding from her abdomen._

_"...That's not supposed to be there," she murmured, more to herself than anything. With a dazed curiosity, she grasped the shard slick with blood and tugged on it. The pain that echoed through her body sent her mind reeling._

_With very little strength to support her consciousness, the pain pushed her over the edge. This whole fight had been strange. Five small robeasts instead of one large one... only Zarkon attacking. It was as if Haggar hadn’t been around to enlarge the robeasts. Allura realized as a very faint after thought that she hadn't seen Lotor there, either..._

* * *

Allura woke up with a gasp, her eyes snapping open. The room was dark around her, the glow from the starlight outside the only source of ambient light. Keeping her body perfectly still, she turned her head to study her surroundings.

_The nice merchant woman,_  Allura reminded herself. With utmost care, she eased herself into a sitting position, grunting as pain shot through her left side. She paused once upright to catch her breath.

"You need to take it easy."

Allura's head whipped around in the direction of the low voice, her eyes struggling to make out the source in the dim lighting.

"That voice," she exclaimed. Adrenaline won out over the pain in her side as her panic raged. Before she could launch herself off the bed, Allura felt arms close around her body and push her back down into the mattress. A scream caught in her throat as she looked up into the golden eyes of Prince Lotor himself, pinning her to the bed, his features shrouded by starlight.

"Dammit, you're going to - _enough_ ," he growled in frustration, physically holding her arms to her sides and using his weight in his hips to keep her from kicking. "Your injuries are far too fresh to keep moving like that," he hissed at her softly.

Allura's wild eyes shot past him and locked on the merchant woman as she stepped into the room. She begged the woman for help silently as she was no match for the aggression of the prince alone.

In a moment, all hope was shattered as she watched the kindly lady morph into the witch Haggar. Tears sprang into the corners of Allura’s eyes as she closed them and turned her head away, refusing to cry with Lotor so close to her.

She wasn't safe.

She wasn't safe at all.

"Sire," Haggar said, the soothing lilt of the humanoid voice gone with the Glamor. "Her pulse is much too high; her body is too fragile still."

Allura locked her jaw and stared out the window to her side, refusing to make eye contact with either of the Drules that had deceived her. She couldn't help the tears running down her cheeks or the erratic rhythm of her heart, but she was proud that she did not sob.

Lotor cursed.

"Allura, I'm going to back away from you, but you need to stay still. If that wound reopens, we may not be able to get it healed again," he explained.

Allura blinked. Cautiously, she turned her head to look up at the man physically pinning her down. His face was chiseled and impassive, lacking the usual victorious smirk. His eyes were fixated on her side where fresh red was seeping through the bandages. He almost looked... _concerned_.

"All… ...alright," she whispered, cursing herself internally for stammering instead of being stronger.

Slowly, he eased off her hips with his weight and then released her wrists. Lotor was true to his word for once; he backed away into the corner he had previously occupied, his eyes never leaving the wound in her side.

Allura, in turn, kept her end of the bargain and stayed where she was in the bed. The only movement she made was to draw her hands into her chest, her eyes looking between the Drules.

A moment of silence ticked by before anyone spoke. Haggar was the first to break it. She started to move toward Allura but the fear that lit the princess's eyes paused the witch after one step.

"The disguise was merely to help you stay calm. Had you reacted that way when you first awoke... it would have been much worse," she tried to explain.

Allura just sighed and turned her head to the side once more in defeat.

"You're beasts," she said softly.

"Beasts? I saved you!" Lotor peeled off the wall he was leaning against to approach but Haggar signaled him back.

"From your own robeasts!" Allura looked back over at him, her anger fresh.

"Those were my father's, Allura. I had nothing to do with those, and neither did Haggar," he explained. His jaw ticked, his patience virtually nonexistent.

"Sire, be at ease. She has no reason to understand the difference," Haggar soothed the prince. Lotor’s desire had voraciously complicated the situation.  He wanted the fire and spirit of the girl, but not a broken slave. In an effort to help his ailing, Haggar had suggested a more unusual approach than what the prince had been used to, but if he didn't keep his temper in check it would never work.

"Allura," Haggar began, turning her attention to the wounded princess. "In Castle Doom, Prince Lotor and King Zarkon are often at odds with each other, competing. Very rarely do they work in tandem, and when they do it is even more unsuccessful than usual..."

"Witch!" Lotor snapped at Haggar, irritated. Haggar just cackled to herself before continuing to explain.

"King Zarkon had Lotor imprisoned in the dungeon-"

" _Don't tell her that_!"

"-And while I was helping him escape, Zarkon launched this fleet. Lotor was, of course concerned for you-"

"Haggar, that's enough!" Lotor peeled off the wall and strode across the room. Allura jumped slightly at the movement, but his gaze was focused on the witch who was having entirely too much fun gossiping about him to the princess.

"-So we came-" Lotor caught Haggar by the shoulders and shoved her into the hallway. He paused to pin Allura with his gaze.

"You are not a prisoner here. You have run of the ship. I would suggest you move slowly and carefully at least for a while longer. There's a private bath over there, there's even a lock from the inside," he added. "There are fresh clothes in the dresser if you so desire," he said. Allura could hear Haggar cackling - or was she  _giggling?_  - from the hallway as Lotor turned and left, continuing to push her away.

The automatic door whizzed shut and left Allura laying in stunned silence.

* * *

"Haggar, explain yourself," Lotor threatened as the old woman wandered into the control room. The single Drule pilot nodded to his commander and the witch. The ship was locked on an autopilot course, but the pilot was still able to slow, stop and speed up the ship's course as well as monitor that it was on track.

"I was simply suggesting that the more she understands, the less fear she will have. To have what you desire, fear will be your enemy," she elaborated. "She fears Zarkon, but she doesn't fear  _you,_  specifically. She fears your link to him and the throne. She has never had the chance to know anything about you except that you, too, like your father, wish to siege her planet."

"But I just want her," he protested. "I don't even care about the others on her planet, I don't need them as slaves, I have plenty of others. It was a fine idea at first, but I don't actually care about them."

"Ah, but she doesn't know that, does she? All she knows is Zarkon wishes to enslave her planet and he attempts to do so by attacking it. Zarkon's son also attacks her planet. What is the only conclusion she would have?"

Silence.

"I see your point, witch," he admitted after a moment.

"Your first goal is to keep her calm around you, eliminate the fear. She won't hear a word you say when her mind is blinded by her panic. The best way is to distance yourself from her fear - how different from your father can you be?"

"Mhmm," he mused. "I'm worried - what if she reinjures herself?" He glanced to the door leading out of the control room.

"Patience, my prince."

"I'm going to go check on her," he announced.

"Gentle words, soft steps," she reminded him as he left the control room.

\---

Allura fidgeted. Of all the things she did for herself, _this_ was the one that was giving her trouble. Fresh from a hot bath, Allura had taken up his invitation to a fresh outfit and was wearing baggy black pants. Whomever this ship had been stocked for initially was definitely larger than she was, but she was grateful for pants that weren't coated in her own blood.

She had even located a wrap-around bra that was strapless and could be tied around her back, but that was as far as she had gotten. She stood glaring at the mirror in front of her, neither able to re-wrap her wound with the fresh gauze that had been laid out for her nor pull the fitted shirt on. Both involved motions that strained the wound that seemed to, for the moment at least, have stopped bleeding.

"Allura?" A knock sounded on the outside of the automatic door.

"Go away," she answered, her breath catching.

She froze.

Her eyes swiveled the room for anything to quickly cover herself with.

"I'm coming in," he announced as the door whished open.

"Lotor!" Allura gasped, her skin turning bright red as she clasped the shirt to her chest. He paused to take in the look of her, hair slick and wet down her back, mostly dressed... but despite the raging beauty before him that he saw everywhere he went, his eyes fixated on her injuries.

"Don't!" The princess cried out in panic as he marched toward her with determination. She backed away into a corner, looking for something to stop him with. He was upon her in seconds, wordlessly and meticulously working. He plucked the shirt from her hands and set it aside, leaving her covering her half-clad chest with her hands.

"Be still," he admonished her, taking the roll of gauze from the dresser top. Under any other circumstance on any other day, it would have been a war with his body to not lay her down and touch her. All instincts of conquest had faded to concern with the still life-threatening battle wound she bore.

With expert skill and medical detachment, he wound the gauze around her ribs, tearing the end deftly to tuck in. He moved quickly, before his brain switched back into a more primal mode, and picked up the black top. He helped tug it over her head and position the arm hole so that she wouldn't have to raise it over her head - the action that threatened the stability of her injury. Once the shirt was on, he backed away quickly. The motion was entirely for her benefit, but it was twofold; he didn't want her to become alarmed with his presence and secondly, he was worried if he lingered he would lose control of himself.

She stood there, dwarfed by pants clearly tailored for a male and wrapped in a better-fitting tank, looking wholly confused.

"...thank you," she said after recovering from her surprise. The action he had taken had been so counter to what she had come to expect from the prince that it left her stunned.

_Gentle steps,_  he reminded himself.

"What," she started to ask a question and then paused, withdrawing back in on herself. She turned to the dresser instead and withdrew a pair of socks. Never turning her back to him completely, Allura made her way over to the bed and eased herself down onto the side of it gently, holding her ribs as she did so. Crossing one leg over the other, she began tugging on the clothing articles.

"How long until we get to Castle Doom?" Her voice was flat and lifeless and she didn't look to him as she spoke.

"We aren't headed there," he answered, watching as she stilled halfway through the second sock. Wordlessly she took up the task again and finished, uncrossing her legs as she sat up.

"Where are we going then?" Allura pinned him with a look.

"You don't believe me," he answered instead, reading the hostility and wariness on her face. She shook her head once.

"I don't," she answered truthfully. She pushed off the bed slowly, her eyes snapping to look at him as his body stepped in her direction when her legs buckled slightly. She held herself and walked to the full-length mirror. She turned sideways then faced the mirror again and held out the extra fabric of the pants to the side.

"I wonder who could wear both these articles of clothing," she murmured softly, surprised by the enormous size of the pants and the shirt that fit her. She shook her head once and looked to her pink pilot boots left neatly by the bed. Catching sight of the blood splatter on the side, she shivered slightly and walked to the small closet to see what sort of footwear was available.

"What..." She knelt gingerly as bending was too much of a strain and lifted up a strange, rounded shoe.

Lotor blinked at the article in her palm. "Those... That's for a hoof," he commented flatly, nearly as surprised as Allura was. She turned back to the mirror and stretched out the extra fabric of the pants.

"I suppose that answers my question," she said before returning the shoe to the closet. Tossing another grimace at her bloody boots, she shrugged. "Socks will suffice." Allura moved toward the door and paused to look at Lotor in the corner. He nodded to her once to indicate it was unlocked and he wasn't intending to stop her from leaving the cabin. Warily, she palmed the door open and stepped into the hallway.

Lotor's fist clenched as he fought the urge to follow her. He forced himself to stay leaning against the wall, watching as Allura threw one more look over her shoulder in his direction as the door closed. He tilted his head back and groaned. Having her so close but keeping distance between them was agony. He wondered if the witch was even senile; how could she ever let her guard down for him?


	2. Chapter 2

Allura looked up and down the hallway.

It was devoid of any traffic.

She had expected noises from the other rooms and other crewmen, but there was nothing. The corridor was dimly lit and the only noise came from the gentle hum of the engine moving the spacecraft forward.

Picking a direction at random, Allura turned to her right and began wandering. The dim, yellowed security lights gave her eyes enough traction in the darkness, but the overall effect was eerie and unwelcome.

The spacecraft felt _empty_.

She crossed her arms across her chest protectively. The corridor felt like it should have been cold due to its environment, but it was just as heated as the rest of the well-lit parts of the ship. Her socked feet shuffled along the steel of the floor, silent. The only human noise in the emptiness was her occasional whimper when the healing wound at her side strained slightly.

She passed by empty room after locked door. No lights were on and no sounds came from within.

_Where is everyone?_  

Allura's thoughts turned morbid as she wondered if Lotor had killed everyone on board. As she continued to pass empty bunkers after an empty galley, she saw no sign of struggles, distress or combat.

The ship was simply _vacant_.

Toward the end of the hallway, a yellowed light flickered from inside one of the open rooms. Through the doorway, she could hear the soft scraping of metal. Her heartbeat accelerated as she quietly crept to see what was inside the room and flashes of dungeon chains or weapon-wielding Drules invaded her mind. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she cautiously peered around the doorframe.

"Greetings, Your Highness," a single Drule soldier said, quickly rising from the dining hall table to offer a curt bow. Allura blinked and stepped further into the doorway.

The male was tall. His hair was a similar silvery shade to Lotor's, but cropped short. His uniform was adorned with medals and honors, both a sword and pistol sheathed in his belt, a rifle on his back. Allura regarded him warily, glancing over her shoulder and studying the room. There were no other signs of life nearby.

"It's good to see you up and moving around," he commented, sitting back down to resume his meal, spooning a ration food off a militaristic metal tray and into his mouth.

"I…" Allura trailed off, a little befuddled. "Who are you?"

"My apologies," he said as he dabbed his mouth after finishing a bite. "I am Tiken. I am one of Prince Lotor's captains."

"Where is the rest of your crew," she asked, drifting closer to him cautiously.

"Please," he said, gesturing to the seat across from him. "Also, there is some food in the kitchen. It's not the greatest, but if you're hungry it'll do. A moment,” he marked, rising from his seat.  She watched him move as he disappeared in a doorway, only to return with a similar plate for her.

Allura settled warily into the seat across the table from him and glanced down at the food.

Typical mess-hall styled rations stared back at her.  Designed with functionality in mind: while it wasn’t terrible, she wouldn’t call it exquisite, either. Where it did excel was convenience to carry for long distances, preservation for long travel times and packed with nutrients for a crew that might not otherwise get everything they needed.

"Thank you," she murmured, still a bit shocked. Before she could do anything else, Allura blushed brightly as her stomach rumbled. Tiken was polite enough not to say anything, though a smile twitched at the corner of his lips. He gracefully transitioned into answering the question she asked, as well as the ones she hadn't.

"There is no crew. You have now met all of us," he explained.

"How do you fly-" Allura stopped speaking when he glanced up and just leveled a wide grin at her, the tips of his fangs flashing with the motion. He rather enjoyed the way her eyes widened at the sight of them. Tiken could easily see her appeal to his prince. _Feminine but sturdy. Kind but brave. Innocent but clever. Prince Lotor has always favored enigmas and challenges._

"We don't. This is an unmanned merchant ship. It's set on an autopilot course to the Tradesman's Junction in Sector L. The course is hardwired into the ship's controls. I'm mostly here in case something goes wrong and it stops working. Short of that, we're on a preset course, Princess."

"Why?" Allura just gaped at the captain, completely confused as to why they would stowaway on a merchant vessel.

"We had very, very limited time to move. Taking smaller crafts was faster, but we needed the space to be able to care for any injuries you might have sustained - though we didn't realize the gravity of the situation at first. This was very conveniently on a route near you, so …we _borrowed_ it," he explained, devouring more of the food.

“You commandeered it, you mean,” she murmured.

Tiken grinned.

“In a way.  It’s still going to its intended destination.”

Allura glanced down to the food in front of her before putting another bite in her mouth thoughtfully. The unusual pair ate their rehydrated meals in comfortable silence as the princess mulled over the information she had just been given.

She finished with her meal at a surprising rate of speed. As she rose to carry her tray to the galley kitchen, she noticed Tiken had also finished his.

He glanced up at her outstretched hand as she offered to clear his plate. With an impassive face, he rose to his full height, looking down at the small female.

"It is my duty to serve you," he said, taking her tray from her hand instead and carrying both away.

Allura just stared at his retreating back dumbstruck.

When Tiken finished washing the trays and setting them in their cabinets, he returned to the dining hall to a glaring princess. She balled her hands into fists and propped them on her hips in frustration.

"I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. I was offering to help as a way to return the gesture you had offered," she explained. As Tiken approached her, her façade of fury melted and she took a nervous step back. The rugged Drule wasn't quite as tall as Lotor himself, but he still towered over Allura in both height and brawn.

"A noble sentiment that did not go unnoticed, I assure you. However, it would be an insult to my name and my honor if I did not do what was asked of me by my Prince," he explained gently. Surprise caught Allura as she realized quickly that she had not considered the situation entirely.

"Thank you," she said after a moment. Tiken nodded once and stepped around her to make his exit.

"I am retiring for a sleep shift. Prince Lotor is on the bridge watching the navigation for the next several hours while I do so," he said. Without another word, he ducked around the corner, leaving a very disarmed princess in his wake.

"Oh dear," she murmured, sitting back down on the bench to puzzle through the bits and pieces of information she kept receiving.

* * *

Lotor lounged in the command chair, watching the screen lazily. There was nothing to be done, no course to alter. Everything was locked into place and he didn't nearly have the crew to forcefully divert the path.

He closed his eyes, remembering the adrenaline that flooded through his veins when he saw the phaser cannon contact the Blue Lion. Those weapons had been designed to punch holes through _warships_.

It was no surprise that Blue Lion crashed after the impact.

The coffin ships had skirted undetected into the sea of chaos. Haggar went ahead to find the exact location of the merchant vessel while Lotor had opened the hatch to Blue Lion to check on Allura.

How he had managed that still eluded him; he’d tried to pry it open many times before, and yet this time, it had simply _yielded._

_It’s not like it’s **actually** a lion,_ he chided himself internally, though he couldn’t shake the memory of them appearing to roar in battle.  Regardless of how, precisely, he had opened the entry to her ship was far less important than what had been inside.

The sight of Allura slumped against the wall, blood all over her chest and lap nearly made his iron stomach heave. He considered himself a man of fortitude and even a barbarian in many cases. The prince had certainly seen his share of war and even caused far more terrifying and gruesome injuries to his enemies… yet something about seeing Allura nearly undid him. Emotions he had never experienced before had overtaken him.

_Fear._

He had been afraid.

It had been an eerie feeling to recognize the catch in his throat and the pause in his heartrate when he saw her. Concern and wariness were not new, especially when in relation to his father's violent outbursts. The fear, however, had been fresh.

The door _swooshed_ open behind him, startling him out of his thoughts. He sighed once, pinching the bridge of his nose before calling over his shoulder without taking his eyes off the navigation panels in front of him.

"I thought you were going to rest," he muttered irritably. If Tiken wasn't planning to sleep, then Lotor would much rather be talking with Allura. He was concerned for her, worried something would stress her too much and her wound would reopen, yet he didn't quite trust the internal navigation system to be perfect without a monitor.

"I'm… fine.” 

The soft voice behind him startled the man. Lotor practically fell out of the padded chair as he kicked his feet off the console and stood up suddenly, wheeling around to find Allura in the doorway. She flinched at the sudden movement and he froze, watching as her eyes flickered around the empty control room. "Tiken went to bed," she supplied helpfully.

"You’ve met him?" Lotor barely breathed as he watched Allura carefully. He anticipated her to scream and run from him. He braced for the curses and the hatred. He was prepared to hold her against her will if it kept her from further injury. He had even dared hope that those reactions would soften with time if he were careful and patient.

He'd never dreamed that mere hours after her rescue she would seek him out of her own accord.

She shifted uncomfortably under the intensity of his gaze, acutely aware that he watched her every movement even when she didn't maintain eye contact with him.

"Yes," she said after a moment, taking soft steps into the room. Several communication stations, navigation panels and other seats designed for a full fleet lined the sides of the room, and yet they were all empty.

He watched her keenly as she touched the back of a chair gently, brushing her fingertips across it. The computer screens for all the stations were off, the only light came from the stars outside the reinforced windows and a single screen in front of the commander's chair that showed the trajectory toward Sector L.

"You like the darkness, don't you," she commented softly.

Allura had begun to adjust to moving about the ship with minimal lighting. The lack of overhead lamps made it easier to see the stars outside. Careful step after step, she made her way slowly around the empty room.

Lotor sat back down in his chair, his eyes never leaving her back.

Allura paused in her path around the room as he took his seat, her head tilting slightly in his direction as she listened to the sound.

After registering that he wasn't approaching, she continued her walk while gently touching the chairs, pausing as she came to one of the windows to stare out at the heavens.

Lotor realized what was troubling him.

She was uncharacteristically docile.

"You're in pain," he startled, the whole picture snapping into focus in a single second. Her attitude, the speed with which she moved… the lethargy she exhibited.

Allura exhaled, placing her palm on the glass in front of her. "Haggar's medicine has worn off," he continued, quickly typing in a command on the keypad in front of him. "More is on the way."

"Arus is over there somewhere," she said, almost in a dream-like trance as she pointed out a cluster of stars in the distance. While he knew Allura wasn't one to acknowledge her suffering, her lack of denial was all the assurance Lotor needed.

Her body stiffened as Lotor came to stand behind her, looking in the direction she pointed. "Planet Doom is…" she trailed off, shaking her head once. "That can't be right, it looks like it should be right there," she finished, pointing in a direction not far off from Arus.

"It is," he said, just over her right shoulder. He watched as she shivered slightly and he wondered if it was out of fear or… something else.

"But we aren't going that way," she protested, clearly confused.

"No, we aren't." Lotor watched her profile as the information settled in. Confusion bled into disbelief before melting into a mixture of understanding and a spark of hope.

"We really aren't!" She turned to face him, her back to the window. The careful warmth in her eyes struck him oddly. The slightest of smiles curled at her lips and he felt strangely moved to be the object of her wonder. "Tiken was serious about the pre-programmed path..."

"Tiken was correct," he repeated back to her in reassurance, still reeling from her splendor. The full smile that broke out across her face was like the dawn across the desert. She turned back to the window, far more animated than she had been. "I wasn't lying," he added tartly, the well-known smirk flashing across his face at last.

"Well, I just… I couldn't… it still doesn't make sense," she explained, but shook her head once. "But I'll take a miracle any day."

They fell into their first comfortable silence as Lotor stood behind the princess while she glanced from one end of the window to the other as if she were trying to drink in all the stars she could find.

He found himself content to watch her as she pointed out different planetary systems and other notable galactic formations. He felt oddly peaceful as she relaxed in his presence and was even amicable.

Haggar interrupted them with a whoosh of the door, bringing a chalice of water with another dose of her pain medicine. She paused in the doorway as the two royals turned to look at her.

"Here you go dear, this should help for another few hours," she explained, setting the items down on the table near the command chair. The princess seemed to be getting along well enough with the prince but the witch didn't want to push her own luck.

"Thank you," Lotor said as Haggar turned and left. He glanced down to Allura who looked away shyly. A moment of thoughtfulness passed before she stepped around him to take the medicine.

Flashes of wariness went through her and she was all too aware of the fact she was ingesting something the witch Haggar had prepared – typically a well-avoided act, but she did have to admit the pain had been substantially reduced with the last dose. Allura just hoped that she was consuming the same thing as before and that it would have no ill effects on a human body.

"Oh goodness," Allura murmured as she felt the burning sensation in her side vanish nearly instantly. "That was fast."

"The old witch knows her stuff. You've only seen the darker side of it, but she is extremely proficient in most forms of magic. She healed your wound closed, for example. We had neither the time nor the equipment to do any kind of surgery, so she used magic to hold it closed and expedite the process," he explained, careful not to move from where he stood.

Allura glanced down and gently touched her side where the gauze was.

" _That's_ why you were so adamant about me not moving," she said more to herself as comprehension dawned on her. Lotor raised an eyebrow as a blush covered her cheeks.

He knew they were both remembering him pinning her to the bed, but he didn't dare hope for a positive reason for the blush.

"Yes," he said after a moment of contemplation. "It wouldn't have been quite as dire if we had had a source of a compatible blood type for a transfusion. As we didn't, the most critical thing was to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible."

Allura nodded, the gravity of her situation sinking in. She remembered the console in her lion rupturing. She recalled waking up with the disguised Haggar. She even vaguely recollected seeing her own wound when it was fresh, though that memory was a haze.

"I should have died," she murmured, her hand still pressing to her side protectively. "Oh my stars, I should have..." A sensation of weightlessness hit her as she came to understand just how precarious everything had been.

Had Lotor not arrived, had he not even known about the combat... Her stomach lurched and tightened, her hands coming up to clasp her face as she looked to him, horrified.

Anxiety crippled her breathing as tears sprung to the corners of her eyes and ran down her face. Her breathing caught and Allura didn't have time nor energy to feel alarmed as Lotor closed the distance between them swiftly. His arms were around her shaking body while she processed her own mortality. In the back of her mind, Allura registered surprise at the gentleness of his touch.

"You're safe now," he promised her. His voice was a whisper - a sound she rarely heard from him. For once, his words weren't full of showmanship or threats. They were a security blanket and intended only for her ears.

"I..." she trailed off, her arms dropping to her sides while he held her. The idea that she should by all rights be dead was overwhelming and was compounded by the utterly bizarre sensation of Lotor's embrace. "I need... some space right now," she uttered, not sure if she should curl closer in, pull away or slap him yet. She blamed the trauma she endured for the first option being the most appealing.

Reluctantly, he released her and stepped back, his eyes never leaving her. His arrogance was gone in the wake of concern.

"I'm alright," she clarified after a moment, gaining control of herself. She wiped her eyes and squared her shoulders. "I'm fine." Allura wasn't sure if the words were intended to convince Lotor or herself. She paused. "I just... I don't really remember much from inside Blue Lion. I... ...it was bad, wasn't it?" Allura chanced a glance up at him. Lotor's face was impassive, but his eyes were as cold as ice.

"Let me put it this way," he explained slowly, choosing his words carefully. "I am a Drule warlord, Allura. I kill as a hobby. I capture planets. I have done many terrible things, most of which I stand by even if they clash with your culture," he admitted.

"But… I have never before felt fear. " He paused to reflect on the memory she was referencing. "...Until I saw you like that."

She startled, but didn't reply, waiting to see if he had anything else to say.

"I saw the cannon blast hit your lion and Haggar was already in route to this ship while I came to gather you. I expected you'd be injured, but I had no idea... ...Allura," he finally revealed in an exhale, strain and anxiety etched into his face.

Allura tilted her head to the side, studying his reaction with surprise. She reached up toward him, her fingertips touching his cheek.

"...You... ...You really seem to care," she exclaimed in a breathy whisper. His eyes narrowed on her as if she had slapped him.

"Of course I do! That should be obvious!"

Allura startled, stepping back before gathering herself together and glaring back at him.

"No, what's been historically obvious to me is you are a selfish brute concerned only with acquiring the items you feel you are most deserving of, everyone else be damned," she said, her own temper flaring in reaction to his.

"And I want you!"

"And what if I don't want you? What then?" She challenged him, glaring with an icy fire.

"Then that's too bad!" His eyes narrowed as she turned away in a sad huff to walk to the window again, frustrated with watching him.

"I'm not for you," she finally said. The comment was softly spoken, but the sharpness of her tone hit him in the chest. "I promised myself I would marry someone I love someday, and I intend to keep that promise. If I never marry, that's fine, too," she explained, watching the stars outside. "I've given up a lot in my station. There are many things I wish I could do but I cannot. I protect the people I care for. The one thing I've promised to myself is to never marry for less than love. Title, rank, nothing else matters as long as I love them - and that they love me," she said softly. Her temper had diffused, but her conviction was strong.

"And you think I don't?" Lotor's own irritation was still boiling over.

"Of course you don't. I'm not usually one to tell someone what they think or feel, but in your case I feel fairly confident," she snapped, looking over at him. "Would you like to know why?"

" _Do tell_ ," he ground out between clenched teeth, doing all he could to keep from stalking toward her. He had bared his soul and the deepest shame a Drule could experience - compassion - and she was flinging it back at him.

"When you love someone, you actually care about them. Keeping them safe, of course, is the easy part," she said, gently touching her side to acknowledge his part in her survival. "But it's so much more. When you love someone, you're consumed by them. You see them everywhere, you want to touch them, to be close to them... but most importantly, your soul lights up when they smile. You see, Lotor," she tossed him a glance as she paused. Lotor was certain she had no idea that she was describing his view of her perfectly.

"When you love someone, they become greater than you. Their dreams, their wishes, their desires surpass your own and you feel compelled to help them achieve them and to make that person happy. In an ideal partnership - in  _my_  ideal partnership," she clarified. "It would be just that. Two people pushing each other to be the best they can, carrying each other when they fall. It's not about ruling the universe or having wealth, power and slaves. You're with them not as a prize or trophy to acquire. You're with them simply because you cannot exist without them," she finished, trailing off as the trail of a nebula traced by the window.

"Allura," he began, pausing as he considered his words. "Drules don't... 'court' the same way humans do," he started. Her back tensed slightly and while she did not turn to look at him, she stayed quiet, listening.

He continued.

"We are a race born into war. We conquer for sport, we fight as a form of foreplay," he explained carefully. "We appreciate strength in battle. Were you a Drule female, Allura, you would have seen my attempts to kidnap, control or otherwise win you over as flirtation. It would have been foreplay, a dance of strength, a test of wills," he said.

"I will  _not_  submit," she hissed at him over her shoulder.

"And if you were Drule, that would be the most intimate threat you could ever give me, worthy of a marriage proposal." As she turned to face him, fire in her eyes and fury on her face, he flashed her an appreciative fanged smile and quickly continued before her anger exploded.

"But you're not. And I've obviously known that, but perhaps I've neglected the importance of it. Allura, you should know everything I have done would be considered a normal, even elaborate courtship practice for Drules. Don't misunderstand - I'm not saying you should react the same way, but I'm not the monster you think I am," he finished, watching as her fire cooled.

She finally gave in, an exasperated sigh leaving her lips with the rest of her fight. She sank wearily into one of the command squadron chairs, burying her face in her hands as her fatigue overtook her pride.

"I don't understand you," she finally admitted without raising her face to look at him. "All I want is to be left alone. I want my planet to be safe, and I want to live in peace with everyone on it. I have surrendered nearly all that I am to achieve that. I have no life to speak of, Lotor. I live for my people and I do so with grace and humility. If I don't stand strong for them, who will? And yet... to be at peace with everyone else..."

She leaned sideways against the armrest of the chair and shook her head once. "It's not possible. I will be called to battle time and time again. And I will always heed the call. I will not falter, I will not fall. As long as there is blood in my veins and breath on my lips, I will fight," she promised with a weary exhale.

"I understand King Zarkon," she continued in his silence. "He wants to see total destruction of Arus' way of life. He wants to control it all, burn it, destroy it, claim it." Her eyes closed against the nightmares in her mind. "And I will do everything I can to counter that. _It exhausts me._ I've never done the things I've felt normal people should do - see the universe. Explore new things. Make wishes and find love. But that's not a problem for me. I am born into this, it is my duty, my honor, my greatest desire to protect my people. But you," she stopped, her eyes snapping open to lock onto him, face still resting in her palm.

"You're different. I can't place you. I can't decide how you operate. I can't predict the next move you will make. I don't understand what your compulsion engine is, Lotor," she said, watching him from across the room.

"You," he said simply, delighting in the raw surprise that flickered across her guarded face. As she started to shake her head, he continued with aggression. "Why do you think I have no crew, Allura? Do you think I don't have the command to scramble an entire fleet together at a moment's notice?"

She shrugged a little in response, going back to staring off into space from where she was sitting. "No, I've seen you mobilize exceptionally quickly. "

"I'll tell you why there are only four people on this ship, Allura. Listen close," his temper was flaring, his tone sharp. Allura flinched briefly at the harshness of his words, but he had her undivided attention.

"I'm here because you're here. Haggar is here because I need someone who can heal and treat mortal wounds. You're here because you almost  _died_  and I will move mountains to prevent that from happening," he drawled out irritably. Allura felt time stall around her at the phrase, confused by his dedication to her preservation. "And Tiken? He's here in case the ship breaks down. We're on a set course, we don't need a crew."

Allura stayed quiet, looking at the sky.

"I didn't bring a crew for two reasons. One; I didn't need one. Two - " he faltered long enough in what he was saying for Allura's head to turn and look toward him curiously. "I didn't want them to see this," he finished.

Her face was impassive, but his was hardened with pain and fury.

"See what?" She asked the question and it dropped like an anvil in the room between them.

"Like I said," he nearly growled. "Drules don't do _this_. We take, we conquer, we display affection with strength. A female who fights back is interested and eventually submits. The fact she resists is a sign of interest for us," he explained slowly.

"So what would a Drule female do who wasn't interested?" Allura felt a sense of genuine curiosity.

"Laugh in my face and walk away," he muttered dryly. "That's not the point-" he raised his voice to talk over Allura's stifled giggle. "I've been treating you as if you were like me," he murmured, the honesty settling in. Allura felt her own mirth quiet as she sat back watching him.

"I'm not-"

"I know, believe me, _gods above_ , Allura, I know. I absolutely know you are not Drule. And I'm finally acknowledging that. The problem is, to adhere to your more human customs... I..." he trailed off, looking to the side. After a second's thought, he abandoned that line of thinking, unable to bring himself to say more.

"Allura, answer me this," he began, looking back to her. "Someday you find the husband of your dreams, everything is perfect. What would you do for him? What is that relationship like?" He watched her carefully as she startled and then pondered the question for a moment.

"Everything. I would give him everything I could. I would build him a place where we could be safe. I would make sure a moment didn't go by every day where he didn't understand how much he meant to me, how much I loved him. I'd call fire down from the heavens to keep him safe. I would give him everything I could think of, I would part the oceans and capture the skies if it made him happy," she said. "He would be my world, without him there would be no sense of direction, no meaning to life. "

Lotor just leaned back in his chair further, watching her. She blushed a little under his gaze and fidgeted while he processed what she said. After a heavy moment beat between them, he spoke softly, carefully and slowly.

"And how then, Allura, is that any different, than what I do for you?"


	3. Chapter 3

"I-" Allura began to speak right away, but she paused, her mind reeling. "... _Oh._ "

Her hand came up to cover her lips as the intensity of what he was saying finally settled in.

His eyelids draped closed in relief. Lotor felt that for the very first time, Allura had at least an inkling of his perspective. Far, far too long he had gone about courtship the wrong way. The damage he had caused between them was possibly irreparable, but at the very least she could begin to comprehend the complexity of the situation. Culture had driven a wedge between them from the beginning, and in his arrogance he had only forced it further.

"I still don't understand how," she said quietly after a moment of processing. "I mean; you don't really know who I am. You know _what_ I am; you know about Arus, abou Blue Lion… but you don't know  _who_  I am," she explained carefully. "It's difficult for me to believe it's anything more than just a conquest when you're so dedicated without even knowing anything about me."

"I know more than you think," he argued softly. "True, I may not know what your favorite shoes are or if you prefer rain to sunshine, but I've seen the real you. I've seen your determination, ferocity, kindness, forgiveness, tenacity and strength. Your loyalty to your people and your planet is limitless and your stubbornness is aggravatingly impressive."

Allura shrugged, a blush on her cheeks as she glanced down to her lap.

"If you could do anything, go anywhere or be anyone, what one wish would you want to have granted?"

Allura glanced up at Lotor in surprise at his hypothetical question.

"What... what are you doing?" Her head tilted slightly to the side with open curiosity.

"Getting to know you. What one thing do you want more than anything else?"

"Peace of course," she answered automatically, perplexed. "I would like to rest at night and not always have one ear open for the alarms. To truly know that my people will never suffer, and will be free; that Arus will never fall to attack again."

He nodded sagely, waiting a moment as if he were processing her words before blatantly disregarding everything she said purposefully.

"Now actually answer the question, if you please," he instructed firmly, hiding the hint of amusement he felt behind a cool expression. "What do  _you_  want? For yourself. Not for your people or your planet."

"Pea-" Lotor cut Allura off as she started to repeat herself.

"If you say anything that has to do with another person or your planet, I promise you I will march over there and kiss you in a way that will leave you breathless. Now, tell me something selfish. Be selfish for me, Allura. What do  _you_  want? No princess, no planet, just you and the means to do or have anything you could ever want. What would it be?"

She just stared at him, struck.

"You wouldn't!" She covered her mouth with her hand, sky-blue eyes wide.

"Is that a challenge?" He uncrossed his leg and sat up in his chair threateningly.

"No!" Allura's cheeks flamed red in response.

"Pity, I was rather hoping it was," he murmured to himself, reclining back in the chair again, the slightest hint of a smirk on his lips. "Now, be selfish. Just for me. I won't tell anyone."

She regarded him warily, her lips pursed in a delightfully tempting fashion. After a moment of contemplation on his seriousness of the threat, she returned her eyes to the window. As beautiful as the spacescape outside was, Allura was more interested in the reprieve from the intensity of his gaze. She had much to think about, but the puzzle in front of her was starting to fall into place.

If he really  _did_  care in some capacity beyond possession, it would explain everything about her situation. Despite the evidence and the explanations, she still struggled with the idea that she was anything more than an object to own or a slave to claim in his eyes.  _How easy would it be for him to get what he wanted by simply pretending he cared?_ She frowned a little at her inner dialog. It wasn't incorrect factually, and that troubled her.

"You're either imagining that threat in great detail, or you've never been asked that question before," he commented lowly, a promising purr echoing with the first half of the statement. Allura's shoulders trembled a little, her skin blushing from her forehead to her chest.

"It's not something I've thought much about before," she admitted. "...The wish, I mean," she amended quickly, turning to look at him. "...or the kiss! That's also something I haven't thought of before. ...Not that I am now! I mean - oh dear," she just collapsed her face in her hands as each phrase caused the evil grin on Lotor's face to widen. The prince felt immense delight at her flush.

"By all means, take all the time you need to think about it," he said. "I can even offer a demonstration if it helps," he added wickedly, causing Allura's blush to darken further.

"I am  _not_  thinking about that," she muttered, her face still in her palms.

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" He threw back his head and laughed at the frustrated growl she released into her palms. "I know, I know," he placated her, finding himself genuinely delighted by her reactions. "Go ahead and take your time to think about what your desire is, I'm exceedingly curious and more than patient to wait for an answer."

She peeked over her fingers up at him, surprised by his laugh. Straightening in the chair, she fanned herself lightly trying to calm the inferno on her face.

"I think," she paused, still vetting her answer. "I think I would like to travel," she said at last, turning yet again to the outside. Lotor's brow furrowed. The answer surprised him.

"Travel where?"

"Anywhere. _Everywhere_. I'd love to actually get out there and see the world around me. All those different planets, all those different people," she stopped to chuckle as a thought came to her. "As Hunk would say, all that different food." A faraway smile lingered on her face. "But just to experience other cultures and foreign lands. I think that would be what I would do," she finished and looked to the prince.

"You don't do that already?" He straightened in the commander's chair to watch her as she shook her head.

"No. Usually the only time I spend in space is in combat. Not the best time for stargazing... occasionally I'll travel for meetings or conferences, but I really don't have the leisure to leave Arus for any length of time. Not with an active war going on and near-constant invasions. It wouldn't be safe to travel, anyway. Even when I do go out, I'm flanked by the Voltron Force and hidden in a castle or a secure location. That isn't exactly getting to see the culture," she said with a shrug. "And when I'm not in combat, I'm either training or studying. There really isn't time to travel, war or not."

"Studying?" Lotor leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees as he looked closer. His free time was spent plotting, fantasizing about her or indulging in his harem. Studies had never crossed his mind.

"Yes," she said. "I study languages. I can speak with over fifty planets. I-" she trailed off, a blush staining her cheeks. "The one I'm currently learning is Drule, actually," she admitted softly.

" _Is it now,_ " he questioned her in his mother tongue, eyes alight with interest. She shook her head and laughed softly.

"Oh no, I'm not nearly proficient enough to speak it to a native. And my accent is absolutely _atrocious_ ," she added, her cheeks still pink. She chewed on her bottom lip and watched him shyly for his reaction.

Lotor growled softly to himself before he could catch it. The waifish look through her eyelashes coupled with the bite on her bottom lip flushed heat through his body. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the armrests, physically holding himself back from replacing her teeth with his own.

"So yes, travel," she said after a moment, shifting uncomfortably in the heat of his gaze. Something about the way he was looking at her made her fidget. A primal and predatory sensation passed between them and she fought the strange urge to flee, settling only to let a shiver run down her spine instead.

Static across the communication station cut through the building tension and surprised both royals.

"Is someone... hailing us?" Allura glanced to Lotor with worry. "I didn't think anyone knew we were aboard..."

"One person knows," he said with a hint of resignation. "The call is probably for you," he explained mysteriously, gesturing to the radio. Allura frowned and rose, walking to the unmanned station. She pressed the on button.

"This is Commander Keith from the Castle of Lions on Planet Arus - we have information that indicates-"

"Keith!" Allura's voice cut the commander off mid-introduction, relief flooding through her system. A sense of normalcy hit her and she smiled at nothing in particular.

"Princess! Are you alright?" Her captain's voice was tense and strained but also trembling with relief.

"Yes, I had a little help," she hedged.

"We have your lion, great gods the cockpit... and you were nowhere to be found. What the hell happened!?" His voice cracked at the end, and Allura bowed her head. She hadn't considered what the Force would think when they saw her empty lion with all the internal damage.

"It was the dash. I'm not sure what the robeast shot at me - my visuals were down at that point, but something hit and caused a surge through the electronics. The dash exploded and knocked me backwards. It also... a piece of metal broke off during the explosion and… it hit me," she explained, both her palms resting on the gauze on her side. "I was rescued though, don't worry. The injury was pretty bad, but it's stabilized."

"Who rescued you?"

Silence filled the room as Allura turned to look at Lotor. Due to the nature of the audio-only transmission, there were no visuals in the control room. Lotor just shrugged at her; he seemed not to care if she told him or not.

"I'm on a merchant ship," she supplied to her commander. "Autopilot course," she added.

"Is it large enough to dock a lion on? We could come get you now," he said.

Allura looked around the command room contemplatively. "I don't think so. It's pretty small. We're probably..." She trailed off, looking to Lotor. He wordlessly held up one finger in her direction. "About one day away from the Trades Junction."

"Right, Sector L. We were sent the coordinates and urged to meet you there," he said. "We'll do that." Allura looked stunned. "Glad to hear your voice, Princess. We were in a bit of a panic when we found your empty lion. See you soon," he said as the transmission cut out. Allura looked over to Lotor.

"You told them to meet us there?"

"You didn't tell him I was with you?"

Lotor rose carefully and walked over to Allura slowly, genuinely attempting to not alarm her as he countered her question with one of his own. He was frustrated with the distance and was determined to close it, however.

She shifted warily as he approached, but she didn't flee. Save a single step backwards, Allura stayed still as he came to stand in front of her.

"He would panic. He would try and come right now. I really don't think this vessel could support the force of a Lion docking with it and I-" she trailed off as his gloved hand gently touched her left cheek.

"Thank you," she said after a moment of silence passed between them, their eyes locked. "For everything. I would not be alive if you hadn't been there, Lotor."

His name on her lips sung to him. He fought down the desire racing through his blood and constantly reminded himself that forcing anything would break apart their fragile truce.

"You should get some rest," he commented after a moment. "Your body has endured a lot and will heal faster with more sleep. We're about thirty-six hours from the junction, so there's plenty of time to talk later," he finished softly.

Allura faltered slightly and took a step back. His seemingly authentic approach to treating her like a sentient creature instead of a commodity to acquire was continuing to catch her by surprise. She nodded once and stepped around him.

"I suppose so," she said, stifling a yawn. "Will you be resting, too?"

"Not for a few more hours. Once Tiken is finished resting and can watch the controls, I will then," he explained. He let his hand drop down to his side as she walked past him toward the doorway.

"And Haggar?"

"I don't  _want_  to know what she does in her spare time," he commented dryly.

Allura felt a surge of amusement bubble up through her and before she could catch herself she tilted her head back and let out a genuine laugh. Lotor glanced over to her, surprised. He found the sound of her joy entrancing, and even more rewarding when he was the source. His lips curled into a smirk as he felt some of his old arrogance return.

"Rest well," she said as her laughter quieted and turned to exit the room.

"You as well, Allura," he called after her. As the door closed behind the princess, Lotor dropped back into the command seat with a groan.


	4. Chapter 4

For all her best efforts, she  _did_ try to sleep. Not a soul alive could deny her that. Whatever witchcraft was in Haggar's medicine certainly eliminated the pain from her wound while she was standing and sitting, but as soon as she tried to recline, a throbbing ache manifested. After several different sleeping positions, including being propped up entirely, Allura surrendered.

The pain itself wasn't the cause of her insomnia, and neither were the rampant thoughts of Lotor. Their combined forces, however, were enough to keep her from rest. Propped up in the bed, she stared up at the ceiling of the merchant ship and released her hold on her sanity.

Flashes of memories and parts of conversations ran unchecked through her mind. The thoughts of the Drule prince she had been keeping a tight control over flared up and in the safety of her bedroom, she allowed them to consume her.

The one phrase that echoed over again in her mind as different memories filtered up, the one utterance he had said that she couldn't shake…  _And how is that any different than what I do for you?_ She shivered at his voice in her mind. She had spoken so passionately of a husband for whom she would protect and love – someone to create not only an heir with but also a legacy and a kingdom. She had described someone she could love and trust in every capacity, to give herself to and accept all of in return, and to protect and keep that person she would do anything – everything from grand gestures to the little things. Allura craved the family she had lost as a young girl.

"Oh gods, he's right," she grumbled, trying to roll over onto her side as the pain flared. Nearly all his actions she could label as a declaration of desire, in one form or another. Warped, admittedly, by her own culture's standards in many ways, but present nonetheless.  _Desire and love are two different things,_  she reminded herself.

Closing her eyes tight against the remote possibility that Lotor himself was even capable of love, an entirely different vision took its place.

* * *

 

_Explosions, screams and sobs echoed in the atmosphere. King Zarkon's sickening laughter echoed through the empty, crumbling castle walls as more people cried out in the distance._

_She was tucked in a hidden, remote corner of her own palace, hunkered down in the darkness as the foundation of her kingdom trembled and fell around her. Coran had placed her there to hide before heading off to try and slow the Drule forces. Her arms were outstretched, and nestled in her embrace were sixteen orphans, some as young as three. They held their breath, waiting terrified for the last minutes of the siege of Arus to end._

_She bowed her head and used all her strength to keep calm and soothe the children so that they didn't cry out and reveal their position. She had no idea where Coran was, or if anyone she knew was still alive. As far as Allura knew, they were the last. Sixteen young children and one princess – the last of Arus._

_Silence drifted toward them and the only sound was a single sniffle from a little girl. Allura comforted her as best she could without making noise, listening for any signs of activity outside. Carefully, she rose, gesturing for the children to stay in the corner._

_Her gown was frayed and burnt, torn and dirty from days of survival. Her fear was strong and her stomach caught in her throat as each beat of her heart nearly hurt her chest. Blood hammered so loudly in her ears, she worried she might miss a sound from outside._

_Another moment passed – another eternity – of silence before she pushed open a door and peered carefully outside. Any remaining shred of optimism and hope drained out of her like lead falling through the atmosphere._

_The main entry hall was obliterated – gaping walls opened to the outside._   _The sky burned red, even the clouds were pink on the horizon. The fields of grain burned, with thick, black smoke obscuring the horizon. The castle was in ruins and her beautiful planet was nearly ashes._

_Allura fell to her knees, looking over the empty, shattered bridge that once arched over the blue moat. Her planet was gone; the war was lost. Zarkon had retreated, but when he returned it would be the final time. They had nothing left._

_It was over._

* * *

 

Allura's eyes snapped open suddenly, a quick inhale bringing her back to reality. Despite being years old, the memory was always fresh in her mind. The sense of hopelessness and devastation had never left her. The next day after the siege had been quiet. The day after that – a miracle. The Space Explorers had arrived and turned the entire war around. In a matter of hours, Arus had gone from the brink of obliteration to solidifying itself into what would later become one of the strongest footholds the Alliance held against the encroaching Drule Empire.

She sighed. 

_I am selfish,_ she thought, reflecting back to the question the prince had posed her. Peace to Allura meant never having to worry that the heavens would again rain fire upon her. It meant never hearing Zarkon's sickening laughter. Hopefully, with a little luck, peace would grant her a respite from seeing her darkest hour emblazoned in her mind every time she closed her eyes.

Perhaps… perhaps at last, she could truly _rest._

With enough concentration and dedication, she spent her waking hours training her body, her mind and her words to best fight her nightmares. By strengthening her fortress and building her team, gathering support and keeping the Galaxy Alliance satisfied, she had created a fragile world where her nightmare would never come to pass.  _How could Lotor ever understand what that sort of fear is like? Could he even care that it exists?_

She eased herself off the bed gently, deciding that sleep would not come for her just yet; anything would be better than lying alone with her thoughts. She paused to catch her breath as her side ached. Allura glanced around the room. The ship had switched to its night cycle, the allowing only ambient starlight through the glass pane.  _Just as well._

She rose gently to her feet, pausing to catch her balance. The amount of blood she had lost was taking a toll on her body. While standing, sitting or lying, she was steady, but quickly transitioning between levels left her head swimming momentarily. Bracing against the headboard of the bed, she gathered herself as she made her way to the bathroom.

Her shower before had been quick. Allura didn't trust Lotor as far as she could throw him, and her bathing experience had been flushed with anxiety that the feeble lock wouldn't keep him out. Hours later, she felt moderately more secure despite having more questions.

Kicking the bathroom door closed, she started the hot water and stripped down to her bandages. The wrap around her midsection was stained with a yellow discolor. Just a byproduct of healing – _at least it wasn't red with blood_ , she reasoned. Peeling the soft bandage off, she touched where the wound had sealed. Allura could see where Haggar's magic had done its work – her skin was stronger and the healing process had been greatly accelerated.  _How much energy did something like this take?_ She paused to reflect on the severity of her wound and how in a matter of minutes, the witch had seemingly channeled enough magic to cause several days' worth of healing to happen to prevent her death. Hours later, it seemed to still be working.

Allura sat back on the edge of the bath as it slowly filled.  _I don't know anything about magic,_  she realized.  _Was something like this easy to do?_

She remembered Lotor's pained explanation of how they were unsure they could close the wound again if it reopened.  _Unlikely,_  she thought, answering her own question. Both of the nefarious Drules had put together an elaborate effort to save her life. Wouldn't it have just been easier for them if she were dead?

She shut off the water and pinned her hair up on top of her head haphazardly with one hand before slowly easing herself into the warm water. She winced as the wound stung at first before her body relaxed completely.

_Dead only works if you're a commodity to him. If he is genuine in his words..._  She grumbled a little as her thoughts kept drifting back to Lotor and his fixation on her.  _He could show up with flowers instead of lasers if that were the case,_ she argued back.  _Kidnapping isn't typically a courtship practice._  Her lips quirked into an amused smile at her own inner dialog.

Allura closed her eyes and exhaled, slipping under the warm water up to her nose.  _What would courtship with Lotor be like?_

Her eyes snapped right back open in irritation.  _Can't you just be quiet and let me relax? I don't want to think about him._

_You could have the entire galaxy at your fingertips,_ her mind continued undeterred.  _He's been more than reasonable since he rescued you. He'd probably let you do whatever you wanted. Aid planets, conduct rescue missions, promote education in impoverished kingdoms. You would never be safer than at his side. He'd probably be fine leaving you in charge of Arus – you'd inherit the universe and-_

"Enough!" Allura sat up and slammed her fist down into the water, shaking her head violently. "I don't want to think about him anymore," she cried out in frustration, begging herself to put him from her mind. She did not want to consider a betrothal to him as a means to end her war. As if sentient, her mind quieted as she sat upright in the bath, taking deep breaths to calm herself. Wearily, she eased back down into the water and tried once more to relax.

Seconds ticked into minutes and Allura found silence in her thoughts at last. Five minutes became twenty and she turned on the hot spigot to revive the cooling bath.

A click caught her attention and she looked to the door in alarm. Her breath froze in her lungs.

Allura grasped the nearby towel and held it close, her eyes locked on the door as her heart hammered.

Slowly, the handle turned. She glared at it defiantly.  _He wouldn't dare._  It turned around all the way but hesitated before turning back.

The door stayed closed.

Allura just blinked at the flimsy barracade, genuinely surprised. 

_…He didn't. He could have, but he didn't._

It took another moment before she relaxed completely, reclining back into the water after no other sign of intrusion. No more thoughts of  _him_  infiltrated her mind. It wasn’t until the water cooled a second time that she decided she had soaked enough.

Releasing the drain, she rose and toweled off her body. It took several minutes of careful struggling, but the princess managed to get herself back into her clothes on her own, once more reminding her the remarkable effectiveness of Haggar's magic.  _If only she would use it to help people, not create robeasts,_  she thought sadly.

She pushed the bathroom door open and stepped out into the bedroom only to freeze in her tracks.

A startled cry caught in her throat as she stared at the slumped form of Prince Lotor in one of the arm chairs in the corner of her room. Holding her breath, she watched him.

He inhaled.

She exhaled.

Relief washed over her as she realized he was only asleep. An awkward unease settled upon her as she felt a loss for what to do. Did she wake him? Did she leave him there? Allura realized dryly that if she couldn't get him out of her mind long enough to fall asleep when he _wasn't_ in the room, the prospect was wholly impossible with him present.

She set the bath towel aside to dry and quietly crept toward him, pausing at the bed to take one of the blankets.

Her approach was cautious, not unrightfully so.

Lotor had historically been unpredictable, ranging from his actions to his emotions. He often had surprised her in the past by being angry or upset - usually by her rejections, but some were more severe than others. Waking him from his sleep was uncharted territory entirely.

Allura hesitated.

Standing beside him, she grasped the opportunity to study him closely.  Parted lips drew in deep breaths and his chest rose and fell gently, matching the cadence.  Neither observations, however, were what caught her attention.

_He was fatigued._

Was he always so exhausted, and she had simply never noticed?

Worried lines etched into his hard face and even at rest, his features remained stern and determined.  His moonlight-colored hair pooled over his shoulders and ran down his chest like a waterfall, and heavy war boots were propped on a nearby footrest.

She steeled her nerves and reached forward, gently draping the blanket over his body. Allura moved silently and tried to curtail any excess movement that might awaken him. Nevertheless, he was a Drule and his extreme senses betrayed her.

His golden eyes snapped open suddenly and instantly locked on her, pinning her with their gaze. Allura froze in her position leaning over him, the blanket half-placed. She swallowed nervously, afraid to step back as his pupil dilated slightly at the sight of her.

Lotor had to give himself credit. The rustle of fabric against him had triggered his combat senses. It took every ounce of willpower to only open his eyes and observe. Looking first was rarely his preference of choice. In this case, he realized, his restraint was a godsend.

His expression softened when he realized she was alarmed; further relieved that he didn't pounce on her with his sword drawn.

"Sorry," she whispered after a moment, carefully letting go of the blanket and backing away. "I didn't mean to wake you."

He closed his eyes and stretched while still laying in the chair.

"There is very little that doesn't awaken me, Allura. I was hoping to see you again before bed, at any rate. How are you feeling?" His voice was softer than she was used to as he continued the unusually quiet pitch he had been reserving for her lately. He watched as she eased herself back onto the bed and sat facing him, hands folded in her lap.

"Better," she answered, glancing down to her hands. "It seems like every hour of healing is like a day of real time. It's incredible," she admitted openly. He shifted and sat upright in the chair, allowing the blanket to fall from his shoulders and pool in his lap. He set his feet on the ground and laced his fingers in front of him, elbows braced on his knees.

"Good," he said after a moment of silence ticked between them. Allura shifted uncomfortably in the quiet.

"You tried the door," she blurted out. Her voice was still quiet, either the tension between them or the darkness of the room urged them both to talk in low tones, as if volume would raise the light.

"I..." he hedged and just shook his head looking down.  _Is he embarrassed? Not possible..._ she thought with incredulity as he hesitated, searching for words. "Yes," he confessed at last.

"But you didn't come in," she murmured, more a summary of the events than an actual question.

"No. I... I was curious if you had locked the door," he finished, glancing out the nearby window. He missed Allura's openly surprised expression at his reasoning.

"Thank you," she said after collecting herself.

"Do you need anything before you rest? Are you well fed? Are you warm enough?" He glanced back to her suddenly, changing the subject completely.

She stared at him a moment before nodding.

"I am well, thank you." Allura's lips twitched as she realized how odd that was to say to Prince Lotor. He missed the bemused light in her eyes as he stood up and stretched again before walking toward her again. He laid the blanket back on the bed before turning to the door.

"Tiken is on the bridge. My room is down the hall on the right. Please do not hesitate if you require anything," he said stiffly. As Allura only nodded again in response, he turned and left her in peace. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she had caught him mutter the word 'idiot' as he left.

Left to her own devices once again, she reclined back into the pillows and blankets.

The bath had done wonders for her. She settled into a comfortable sleeping position and closed her eyes. Her mind and body were completely relaxed, even in spite of running into Lotor again. Just as she drifted off to sleep, her mind taunted her one last time.  _Or maybe it's because of him..._


	5. Chapter 5

Warm. Allura yawned sleepily as she stirred. Soft. Her arm stretched out to the side and landed on another fluffy pillow. Wrapping both arms around it, she drew it toward her body and curled into the plush.  An unconscious delight in the raw sensation of leisure flooded her.

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, something flagged as unusual.

_Nanny should have been here by now,_  she lazily thought to herself. With another yawn, Allura stretched deeply, tossing both arms over her head while rolling onto her stomach.

A searing fire shot through her side and snapped the princess back into reality while eliciting a strangled cry coming from her lips.

She blinked a few times, adjusting to the dimly-lit cabin. Allura sat up carefully as her memories caught up with her.

It wasn't her bed.

It wasn't her castle.

She sat cross-legged on the mattress and let the sheets drape over her shoulders like a royal cloak.

As her stupor faded, she tossed off the blankets and slipped out of bed, moving quickly across the steel floor, gasping as the cold shocked her bare feet. She stopped before the window and anxiously looked outside.

Sure enough, the cluster of twinkling objects that housed both Arus and Doom were still on the sidelines. The vessel was indeed, still making its way to Sector L.

She exhaled in relief.

The door swished open without warning and Allura spun to find a very concerned prince staring at her.

The second cry that left her lips was louder than her first, her surprise at the sight of him stronger than her prior pain.

He stood bracing against the doorway, alarmed and breathing heavily. His right hand pressed against the doorframe as he caught his breath, his left hand clutching a dangerously-draped towel around his hips. Silver hair was wet and plastered to his face and he caught his breath.

"I heard you scream," he said in between inhales as his eyes looked over her with concern. "Are you hurt?"

Allura couldn't help but stare back at him openly. Her sky-colored eyes were wider than he had ever seen them before, her cheeks stained red and her jaw agape. Seconds ticked by, the only movement between the two frozen royals was the water dripping off his body and pooling on the floor.

"You're not dressed!" Allura finally found her voice, aghast at the state of indecency he was in.  _At least, that's what you want to believe,_  her mind taunted her, causing her cheeks to glow even redder.

"Neither are you!" He stared back with open concern before finally collecting himself. She gasped loudly and haphazardly grabbed at the long shirt she was wearing and tried to tug it down past her hips to hide her undergarments from his roaming gaze.

Vague recollections of kicking off the pants in the middle of the night when her legs kept tangling in the bulky fabric flickered back to her. Hindsight indicated that had been a terrible idea.

He stood to full height and coughed, checking to make sure his towel was still secured around his waist before returning his eyes to her. "…you're well?"

"Yes," she said after a moment. He continued to look over her, his face impassive. Allura couldn't tell if he was looking for signs of injury or simply skimming her skin.

She flushed hot at the thought.

An awkward moment rolled lazily between them as both rulers struggled to maintain eye contact but failed miserably. He nodded once before turning away to resume his shower.

"Thank you," she called after him genuinely, albeit with strain. When he paused to glance her way, she elaborated. "For your concern." He made a noise of assent before letting the door close behind him.

Allura let her body drop into the armchair he had been reclined in the night before, stunned by the last few minutes. She swallowed, attempting to calm the swell of heat in her.

"Gracious," she murmured after a moment.  _It's just fluster. That's all._  She nodded resolutely, closing her eyes.

One deep exhale later, she realized her mistake. Behind her eyelids, she saw the chiseled lines of his muscles, the water droplets running down his body, and oddly, the most attractive feature – the raw concern etched in his usually arrogant face.

Her eyes snapped open and she shook her head once, clearing the blush from her face. She swallowed, a lump in her throat.

"I'm not attracted, I'm not attracted," she muttered repeatedly to herself in between deep, calming breaths. "This is  _Lotor_  we are talking about," she reminded her mind.

She stood up abruptly and went to the dresser, retrieving another pair of pants and socks. After dressing her lower half and tugging the fabric footwear on her feet to protect them from the cold floor, she made her way out into the ship to find a distraction from the bare-chested Drule she knew was back in the shower just down the hall.

"Oh!" Allura startled as Haggar stepped out of the shadows and pinned her with a curious look. The princess froze in her path and just regarded the witch curiously, her hand coming to rest on her collarbone in surprise.

"I can't say I've seen his highness move that fast before," she commented as she walked by Allura. She could have sworn she saw the faintest of a smile on the old witch's face. "Or with so little clothing on," she said and cackled slightly before knocking once on the door to the prince's room before letting herself in.

Allura watched the door close before glancing down to the trail of water leading from his door to hers. She shook her head again before wandering in the opposite direction, seeking out the galley for another meal.

* * *

"I said be still," Lotor hissed at Haggar. The witch was positively gloating at the prince as he toweled himself off. He grumbled, standing in the center of his room in trousers while drying his hair. "I thought she had hurt herself," he defended himself.

Haggar lounged on a nearby chair, keeping her cackles to herself.

"So, you rushed right over in only a towel," she said. "How did you even hear her? She's two doors down and you were in the shower. "

"She was dressed in only a shirt," he sighed in annoyance and threw his towel at the old hag. He freshened up before pulling on his top.

"Pulling out all the stops, are we?" She teased him.

"Get out," he snapped at her, pointing to his door.

"I still want to know how you heard her," she said, reclining in the chair. Haggar had to admit, between Lotor and his father, she certainly preferred the company of the former. She couldn't think of anyone who legitimately  _liked_  Zarkon. Everyone just put up with him to stay on his good side.

"I have excellent hearing," he offered.

"I don't believe you. You don't hear me when I'm in the same room with you," she replied irritably.

"Oh, I hear you. I just choose to ignore you."

Haggar scowled.

" _Rude._ "

"I never claimed to be a gentleman," he admonished her with a smirk while giving his hair one last towel-dry before flipping the damped locks over his shoulder where they fell down his back.

"Well, at least not to  _me_ , anyway," she clarified. At Lotor's glare, Haggar gave him some respite from her teasing. "She's warming up to you rather quickly. So long as you don't barge in on her while she's undressed," she observed, changing the subject to a more serious note. "What is your next move?"

He stilled, tossing the towel aside, contemplating Haggar's words.

"I haven't decided," he said honestly after a moment. He picked up his infamous skull belt and slipped it around his waist, fastening his sword to his side. "I'm trying to… how did you describe it initially? 'Use restraint'," he quoted her words back to her tartly through clenched teeth. Using restraint was not something that came naturally to him.

"Ah, but it's working, isn't it? She hasn't slapped you yet, has she?"

He just groaned in response.

"No. She actually… she talks to me. She doesn't run anymore, she…" He trailed off and coughed, trying to retain some shred of his Drule masculinity. Haggar was polite and didn't tease the prince for his infatuation, respecting the authenticity of his admission.

"Well, in her defense, you're speaking to her like she's more than just an object. An item to collect. A prize to win and take for yourself, like she's not-"

" _I get it_ ," he snapped at her.

"She's _kind_ , Lotor," she continued earnestly. "She's not like us. Are you really surprised that, when offered compassion, she would respond with the same?"

He hesitated.

"No, I'm not." He was uneasy but offered another moment of vulnerability. "I don't know what to do next. I don't know how to be 'nice'. I don't know how to be 'good.' And I want more. But… I don't want to break what I have," he finished weakly.

Haggar just nodded and despite her playful ribbing, she _did_ understand his dilemma. She appreciated how sensitive the situation was to him, even if it defied most Drule customs.

"This would be so much easier if you didn't actually care about her, you know," she muttered. Lotor just leveled her with a lethal gaze.

" _Trust me_ , my father is the first to remind me of that extraordinary  _oversight_  on my part," he said tensely. After a deep exhale, he sat down in a nearby chair and placed his head in his hands. "She's so fragile," he said wearily.

"Do you mean emotionally or physically?"

"In this case, both. In general - emotionally. She scares so easily, she runs… she fights hard enough to make any Drule proud," he murmured, more to himself.

"Well, it would appear that you're on the right track then, by presenting her with a situation she neither needs to fight against nor flee from," she speculated.

Lotor glanced up.

"So… what now," he questioned her. The witch only offered a shrug in response.

"What's your instinct?"

"I…" he just sighed, pressing his face into his hands. "I want her at my side… gods above, I'm an idiot," he admitted as he realized where his words were going.

"I would wager you're just in love. Possibly still an idiot, yes, but that isn't the culprit here," Haggar teased him gently.

Lotor just rolled his eyes.

"How far away are we from the trade junction?"

"About twenty-nine hours," she said. "It's just over one full day-cycle."

"Time is short," he realized.

"You won't win her in a day," Haggar cautioned him. She grew concerned the prince would panic with the waning clock.

"Then what was the point of all of this? I could have just taken her back to Castle Doom once we made sure she was safe!" He looked both ashen and angry that all the effort and restraint on his part was for nothing.

"There is still a point. It's called 'delayed gratification.' I know it doesn't come naturally for you," she said tartly. "How many months and years has it taken for you to drive her away? Surely you don't expect to fix it in just a few days. But, what you  _can_  do is take this moment and leave opportunity available to you in the future," she suggested.

Lotor glanced over at the witch irritably.

"Do you really think that?"

"You're so used to clutching her tightly whenever you get your hands on her - because you know as soon as you let go, she'll flee. So - the thing you've always done is grab and hold on tight, demand things of her, force ultimatums, threaten her. …Is it any wonder that she _does_ flee the second she gets the chance? If you don't grapple with her will and freedom, then there is a much higher chance she'll come to _you_ , instead."

Lotor looked nonplussed at Haggar's explanation.

"She tried to flee the room when she first woke up and saw me. It would have ripped her wound open and _killed_ her. She would have rather had that outcome than be in the room with me," he pointed out.

"To be fair she probably didn't realize how dangerous her injuries were at that moment. But, the point still stands: That's how afraid of you she is – and really, can you blame her? Every time she sees you, she's bent into some position where she must to choose servitude to you or your father, or watch her friends, planet, castle or lion ships be destroyed in front of her eyes. You don't exactly score high on the romantic scale."

He grumbled in response, stood up and began pacing around the room.

"Not servitude, I want to give her the universe, make her my queen."

Haggar just stared at him expressionless, waiting for him to make the next leap in his logic pattern for himself.

Lotor just snorted and walked to the door, ignoring the point she was trying to make.

"Sire," Haggar cautioned him.

"I won't hear it witch. I'll have her, this is _going to work_ ," he called back, the door sliding closed behind him.

Haggar only sighed.

"Fifty-fifty he blows this. Impatient, besotted fool," she muttered to no one in particular.


	6. Chapter 6

Tiken looked over his shoulder as the door slid open. He was seated at one of the side control panels and quickly rose to salute his prince.

"At ease, Tiken," Lotor said as he strode into the room with purpose, clearly flustered by something.

"Sire," the captain greeted him as he dropped his hand to his side but remained standing. "We are," he glanced to the control panel. "Twenty-seven hours and thirty-eight minutes from docking." He turned his attention back to his commanding officer before continuing to report in. "I've been showing-" he began.

"That's not enough time," Lotor murmured to himself, cutting Tiken off mid-sentence. He turned in a slow circle, watching the floor as his mind raced.

The captain was startled; the prince was rarely as unsettled by something as he was now.

"Sire, what-" Tiken interrupted, trying to get a handle on what was plaguing his mind. The captain was growing alarmed at the unusually manic behavior he was displaying.

"It just isn't," Lotor insisted, pausing in his pacing to regard his officer. His brow was furrowed and his eyes searched for a solution to a problem that existed in his mind. "I need more time with her," he continued, shaking his head once. Tiken's heart quickened slightly as the pieces slammed together and the panic exhibited by Lotor made sense.

"Sire, she's-" Tiken grew slightly more agitated as he tried to interrupt him again. He could practically read Lotor's mind and knew where the conversation was headed.

"-fragile, I know. But she's just starting to warm up. Can we delay the voyage?"

Tiken's eyes closed as he sighed in defeat. He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, frustrated with the lack of restraint.

He could practically _hear_ the plans shatter on the floor in the silence when a single gasp caught Lotor's attention.

"You would stall the ship to keep me here with you?"

Lotor spun around to see a very tense, horrified princess in the back of the room.

 She was seated at one of the control panels, her body twisting around to face the scene in the center of the room. The screen behind her glowed, casting her form into shadows.

"Allura! How long- what are you doing?"

"As I was saying," Tiken said slowly, almost irritably, while massaging his temple. "I was showing the princess the different navigation sequences. She was curious, and I think, a bit restless," he finally uttered the entire sentence he had been trying to tell Lotor since he entered the room.

"I trusted you!"

Allura shook her head once, her skin color changing from white to red as her emotion shifted from fear to fury.

"Allura, I-" He took a step toward her but froze when she backed away. She said nothing, only continued to shake her head at him.

"You're no different.  No different... I'm just a fool for thinking anything to the contrary," she murmured after a moment before backing to the door. "I'm just a fool," she repeated softly, more to herself as if to remind her of her transgression.

"It's not that," he tried to explain before closing the distance between them in frustration.

Allura cried out in alarm at his approach.

She spun on heel and bolted to the door. She had the advantage of being near the back of the room – the door was open and the princess was halfway down the hallway before Lotor had even made it to the door.

"Allura, wait!"

"Stay away from me," she called over her shoulder. Her defiance ended with a soft noise of pain.

Her side flared as she ran faster, but she only winced and pushed on, determined not to let it slow her down. Lotor was faster and stronger than her, even when she was in peak physical form.

Allura knew she needed all she had to put distance between them. She clasped her side with both hands, determined not to falter. The fear-induced adrenaline flooding her bloodstream quickly helped numb the ache.

Lotor cursed loudly and turned and punched the nearest wall in anger. The metal cried out and warped around his fist, leaving a small impact crater. He was torn between chasing and giving her space.

He briefly calculated and weighed the pros and cons of either course of action. He let his forehead fall against the wall he had just struck and exhaled, his throbbing hand dropping to his side.

* * *

Allura sniffled.

She had only a vague idea where she ended up; she had just taken turns at random until her lungs burned. The room around her was quiet and dark, like most of the unused parts of the ship. The tiny, simple, steel box housed two cots and an industrial lamp that remained off. A small, metal dresser was in the corner. She presumed it to be a bunk cabin for two crewmen, empty and abandoned for the autopilot course.

"Anger," she whispered, naming the predominant emotion she was feeling. "I don't usually contend with that one," she murmured softly, almost amused at the sheer impossibility of her situation. She exhaled and let her head fall back to rest against the wall. Her eyes closed, and for a moment, her brain was quiet.

Silence wrapped a comfortable blanket around her body as she breathed in and out, slowly. With each controlled breath, her heart slowed a little more.

Allura sat on the floor beside the door, her back to the wall. Despite being warmer to sit on one of the cots, she preferred to keep her strategic position. Having her back to the same wall with the door somehow made her feel more hidden. Should Lotor open the door suddenly she could go undetected unless he truly scoured the corners.

The princess drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, letting her head fall forward to rest against them.

The last few days had been an obscene roller coaster. After eluding death with the aid of her unlikely companions, she had been wary and distrustful.

With time and unique opportunity to have very honest conversations with the prince, she had opened up and even dared to hope.

In reality, nothing changed.

He was as he always had been. 

_Why does that crush your heart? Why are you surprised?_ She snorted in frustration as her irritating inner voice spoke up.

_Did you expect anything to be different? Did you think his gentleness was for anything other than his own gain?_  

In the depths of her mind, she realized she had always expected his behavior and motivations to remain unchanged. Yet, from the bottom of her heart, she had wished for otherwise. She genuinely wanted and desired him to mean the things he had said. 

_Why is it so wrong for me to want to trust him? Why can't I hope for peace? For even… friendship? Why is that such a punishable offense? Am I meant to be hardened by this war? Or… worse?_

She groaned and just exhaled a second time, continuing to calm her racing heart, one breath at a time. Allura had been holding back the ache, ignoring the fear to foster the hope.

Pretending it did not exist only heightened its potency as she restrained it, but it had allowed the gentle kindness to blossom instead.

Without the optimistic rational to cling to, she released her grip on her distrust and allowed it to take her. She allowed the pain to leave its mark on her heart and the fear to exhaust itself while the adrenaline ran its course. As they abated, a frosty anger took root in their absence and a coldness settled in her core.

"I'm not even mad at him," she whispered aloud to herself. "I'm mad at myself. He did exactly what he always does.  _I'm_  the fool that expected –  _hoped for_  – something different."

"You  _should_ be mad at him, dearie. He's an idiot," Haggar's voice startled Allura.

She glanced up to find the witch sitting across the room on the lower of the two bunks, just watching her.

Allura cried out in surprise and tensed with alarm while starting to stand.

"Be still; I'm not coming closer," she explained with a dismissive wave of her hand. At her words, she relaxed back onto the floor, letting her legs drop into a cross-legged position.

Allura couldn't articulate why she felt as comfortable as she did around the witch. At that moment, she was pleased that it existed.

"I'm just mad at myself," she repeated quietly, lacking any other response to give the woman.

"And why would that be?"

"I should have known better. I shouldn't have ever believed him in the first place," she said, closing her eyes and shaking her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm a gullible idiot."

"Well, what difference would it have made? You'd still be on this ship either way," she commented, shrugging her shoulders casually.

"I wouldn't feel so foolish," she admitted with a blush, ashamed of her vanity.

"I can assure you that he is very much the fool, not yourself, young princess." Her robe rustled as she shifted her weight.

Allura just sighed.

"Why are you here, Haggar?"

"To see how you were." Her answer was both so simple and so different from what she anticipated that it struck Allura. She glanced up to regard the older woman carefully, and Haggar continued. "You covered quite the distance. I wanted to be sure it didn't reopen," she nodded to Allura's side.

"I'm afraid I don't understand, but then again that seems to be a running theme for me lately. Everything seems extraordinary," she exhaled.

"What would it take for you to give him another chance?" Haggar shifted the topic, satisfied that her miraculous handiwork didn't go to waste on a stubborn princess.

"I won't," she snapped. "I won't subject myself to that humiliation again. I know where I stand – I know how he thinks. He's just like Zarkon and I was out of line to hope anything to the contrary. Selfish, arrogant and destructive," she finished, defeated.

Haggar stayed quiet a moment longer before saying anything.

A pause the length of three breaths passed between them, and just as Allura was glancing to the sorceress, she spoke again.

"Well, you're not _entirely_ wrong. But you're not entirely correct, either. Prince Lotor is… complicated. More so than you may think. He very much – perhaps subconsciously – wants to be like his father, simply because that is what he's been raised to believe is right. Not unlike you, my dear. You also follow your father out of a sense of righteousness. "

"My father was a great man who did the right thing and put his people first. He protected the people he loved and cherished. He was brave and he was honorable. He defended the weak and spoke for people who had no voice. _Of course_ I would want to be like that," she said.

Her passion was rekindled by the comparison between Zarkon and Alfor. "Zarkon is none of those things. To justify Lotor trying to emulate him as being no different than myself…" She trailed off, searching for the word to convey the bitterness the sentiment inspired in her. "It's not the same," she finally uttered, shaking her head once.

"If you strip away the cultural aspect, it really is," Haggar pressed.

Allura's eyes snapped open and stared at the witch warily. "Your culture doesn't agree with our culture. Take away all the aspects of what honor or righteousness mean, and you're left with a king that embodies the ideals of his people - whatever those ideals may be – and an heir that is raised an environment that glorifies those ideals.  Yes, it is the same. But, I digress. You do take after your father, princess. Lotor… does not. Despite his best attempts, he often resembles his mother more."

"His… _mother_?" Allura's anger faded completely at the mention of a person she had never heard spoken of before. Morbidly, she wondered what kind of woman Zarkon would indulge himself in, enough to make a son. "What was she like?"

"Why don't you ask him sometime?" If Allura could see more of the witch's face, she would bet she was smiling at her, at the very least smirking. "He's not all bad, you know. And he truly isn't like Zarkon, as much as he would deny that."

Allura just sighed, finding herself overwhelmed with more information than she could process at a time for the second instance in recent history.

The princess vented her frustration aloud to her unlikely confidant. "I don't understand why I'm alive. Wouldn't it just be easier for you both if I had died? No heir to Arus, it would take the boys quite a while to train another pilot for Blue Lion, effectively eliminating Voltron for a while –  _why did you save me?"_

"Do you wish we hadn't?" The witch's glowing eyes quirked in a manner indicative of an eyebrow rise.

"No – I'm… I mean. I'm grateful, I didn't mean for that to sound that way, I just… I'm very confused. This whole situation has been so… surreal. I don't know what to think," she admitted openly.

"Well," Haggar said, rising from the bed. She glided across the steel floor to the door near Allura, pausing to look down at her on the ground. "I would bet my dark magic that he's just as troubled as you are. He is trying very hard – and admittedly failing at this particular moment because he's an idiot – _I cannot stress that enough_ – to do what he thinks is best. For you, that is. That's very new for him. Don't tell him I said that," she said, giving Allura a pat on the head as she opened the door and left her with her thoughts and the stunned sensation of being comforted by the witch Haggar.

"I want my stuff back," she muttered, quickly deciding on a course of action that would leave her feeling slightly less helpless and confused.

She rose to her feet and caught the door before it closed behind the sorceress and peered out into the hallway.

_Empty._

She wondered vaguely where the witch had gone so quickly. Allura began making her way at random down the corridor, wandering until – she hoped – ran into a familiar part of the ship.

It took her near thirty minutes to find her way back, but she was unhindered. Allura nudged open the door to the chambers she was currently calling her own. Bracing, she glanced around the room, half expecting Lotor to be waiting for her.

He was not.

She exhaled in relief – or was it disappointment? – as she closed the door behind her. Scooping up her pilot boots from the floor, she marched into the bathroom and sat down on the edge of the bath. She dropped the blood-spattered footwear next to the pile of her stained uniform before turning the hot water on and waited for the bath to fill.

* * *

Allura had to admit that it felt good to be back in her flight suit. It had taken the better part of three hours to finish scrubbing and bleaching the stains from her outfit and boots. Another half hour was spent with a scavenged hairdryer in hand to dry them completely, but she stood before the mirror looking – and feeling – more like herself than she had in the past couple days.

Her pink boots were scuffed but otherwise spotless. Her bodysuit was once again bright white. The only marring were the rips around her waist where the shrapnel had pierced her flesh. She touched the opening in the material delicately, reminded how incredible the witch's magic was. She shook her head once, clearing her thoughts.

Allura's boots clicked comfortingly against the floor as she strode over to the dresser and picked up her belt, fastening it around her waist. She holstered her pistol and gingerly picked up the Blue Lion ignition key. Her thumb brushed over the surface gently. 

_He could have taken it. He might not have had the lion, but he could have prevented it from ever being flown again._

She sighed, her confusion resurfacing as she replaced the key above her left breast. A similar thought occurred as she checked her pistol and found it was, indeed, still charged with a laser pack. He hadn't disarmed her, either. He had left all her pilot necessities nearby should she ever need or want them.

Even her pink helmet sat watching her from the dresser top. The left side of the helmet was brutally scraped and the glass visor was cracked. She reached out, her gloved hand touching the top of the protective headwear.

"Well, it did its job, I suppose," she murmured, letting her hand slide off the piece and back to her side. Walking to the mirror, she took the time to brush out her hair and pin it back up in her traditional bun. Shoulders squared, Allura exhaled.

_Trapped on a ship with Prince Lotor. Potential hostage, definite captive. This feels more normal,_  she thought as she steeled herself for the battle ahead. There was something comforting about being back in her uniform for the impending conflict.

It was  _natural._  

There were no traces of tenderness, no acts of confusing kindness. It was her against the prince, locked in their characteristic conflict.

The prize for victory was what it always was: her freedom.

She unholstered her firearm and pointed it across the room, measuring the sights on it. She tested her range of motion with her arms and was relieved to find she could aim her weapon properly. After double checking it was only set to stun, she put it back at her side.

A knock sounded on her door, startling her from her mental preparations. She grew still, watching the unlocked door as the knock sounded again. The likelihood of Lotor being patient enough to wait for her was miniscule, but she steeled herself for the brutish prince just the same.

"Enter," she said, weaker than she had hoped. The door opened to reveal Tiken.

"Your Highness," he said, bowing briefly to her before rising. "Prince Lotor is on the bridge, requesting your presence. He asked me to watch your room until you returned. I tried knocking periodically since you returned - are you well? You didn't answer for several hours," he said, studying her closely.

She nodded once, still stunned.

"Yes, I'm fine. I took longer than I expected to… I mean," she stammered, glancing down to her pilot uniform, unable to succinctly explain what she had been doing. Tiken merely nodded politely, unsure how else to respond to the frazzled princess.

"Would you allow me to escort you to the bridge?" He pressed the question. Lotor was clearly impatiently awaiting her presence, but Allura was not terribly keen on acquiescing to him.

"I'd rather not," she murmured dryly, turning away from the Drule. She walked across the floor, the sound of her footfalls on steel reverberating softly through the room. Allura eased herself down onto the side of the bed and cast the captain a wary look. "I don't suppose I have a choice in the matter, do I?"

"Of course you do," he said, surprised. "I'm not going to carry you there if you wish to stay here." Allura noted that Tiken continued to remain outside her room, standing in the doorway politely.

"What will you do if I say no, then?"

"Then I shall return to the bridge and inform Prince Lotor of your decision," he explained simply.

"And he will either yell at you, or storm down here looking for me. Or both," she said, feeling her irritation rise again at the arrogant man.

"He would likely only be cross for a moment out of frustration. I doubt he would leave the bridge, Your Highness," Tiken corrected politely.

"Where are we headed?" Allura changed the subject.

"To Tradesman's Junction."

"How soon will we be there?" Tiken checked his watch at her question. After staring at it a moment, he calculated a precise answer.

"About twenty-two hours and fifteen minutes."

"Tiken, that's the same course we were on before. How does Lotor propose to delay?"

"He doesn't," he said simply. While his face remained impassive, he found himself inwardly bemused at the dawning surprise on the young woman's face. She quickly collected herself and nodded once.

"I see. Well then, I suppose it would be best if I  _did_  go and speak with him," she hedged.

"Would you like an escort or would you prefer to go alone?" His question was polite and gave her the room to request either company or privacy tactfully.

"I'm fine on my own," she said after a second, chewing on her lip. She wasn't sure which she preferred – being alone with the prince or having someone witness whatever was about to unfold. At least if she went alone and broke down in tears, no one else would bare witness.

"Very well," he nodded, stepping out of her way. She slipped by him and made her way down the hall toward the bridge, her hands balled into fists of conviction, shoulders squared for the anticipated battle ahead. She struck each step into the ground with confidence, determined to face him with unfaltering courage.

Allura rounded the corner and moved out of sight. Tiken sighed and leaned his shoulder against the wall as Haggar materialized next to him.

"If we set those two up on a reality show, we could be famous," she said with a soft cackle. Tiken glanced over his shoulder at the sorceress in surprise, raising a single eyebrow at her claim. He contemplated it a moment and nodded once.

"Yes, you're probably right."

"Are you going to cheat an old woman? I was right, you know. Pay up." Haggar glanced over at the captain. Tiken sighed and placed a coin into the old woman's palm.

"Never bet against a witch," he murmured. "I had such high hopes he wouldn't trip the finish line on this one."

"I didn't. He's too predictable," she muttered. "Though, with a little luck, he may salvage it yet."

"For his sake, I hope so."


	7. Chapter 7

Allura stood on the opposite side of the door to the bridge contemplatively for several minutes. Her gloved hand hovered over the panel that would grant her access as soon as she pressed the green key.

She wavered.

On the other side of the steel doors a disgruntled, possessive and potentially enraged prince waited. She dropped her hand back to her side.

_Coward,_ she thought to herself.  _You're afraid._  

She grimaced and closed her eyes. 

_Yes._  

She exhaled as she accepted the fact that the man behind the door terrified her. His mind moved quickly, his lust ran hot, and he was wholly unpredictable.  _And yet for one shining, shimmering moment, you had hoped…_  She snorted.

The barrier in front of her face looked dull. The steel was worn and lacked the luster and shine that new metal carried. In that moment, the ship felt as hollow as she did. Her right hand reached up and touched over her left breast. 

_Why does it hurt? Why does it hurt when someone I never trusted broke my trust? Can someone break what they never had? Can someone hurt what they cannot touch?_

_He's the idiot, not you._  Allura's left hand curled into a fist at her side as Haggar's voice echoed in her mind. Her lips pressed together defiantly and she glared at the door. 

_You have every right to be angry with him._

She scowled as her mind warred with itself and spun on heel to walk away from the door.

Allura owed him nothing. No explanation, no forgiveness.  _Only a slap in the face._  

The princess had already decided she wouldn't speak to him. Her mind was made up. What would trying to reason with a manipulative, selfish, brutish Drule accomplish?  Her time was better spent planning and preparing for combat; to fight and defend.

And yet she didn't step forward.

Her feet stayed rooted to the ground as she faced away from the command center. Her thighs felt like iron, unable to move forward and walk away from the man behind her.   The vice that bound her heart at the thought of walking away from him was tighter than any commanding hold the man had held over her.

Allura groaned and pivoted back toward the door.

She felt a dichotomy of emotions; both righteous indignation and humiliation, anger and sorrow. 

_Why am I sad?_  

She exhaled once more and rested her forehead against the door. 

_Because I wanted it to be different,_  she finally admitted to herself, the grip over her chest cracking at the truth.

Her heart ached because in some recess of her imagination, a world had existed where she and the fearsome prince could be more than enemies. With one sentence he had shattered it all before her and she _resented_ him for that. 

Strike after strike, invasion after onslaught, he shattered her dreams with systematic cruelty.  She wondered vaguely if he had any concept just how deep his wounds reached. For all his professions of adoration and promises of love, her mind entertained the brief dance that perhaps he did not know, nor intend it.

Walking away from it would not heal the injury, nor would it answer her questions.

She inhaled and raised her eyes to the door, steeled her heart and squared her shoulders. She punched the button before she could have more time to reconsider.

It was time to face the devil himself.

The door opened without hesitation and Allura stepped into the bridge. Her first footfall barely sounded off the walls before the silver-haired prince leaped out of the command chair and turned to face her.

She cast him a sharp, icy look before strolling confidently into the room, masking her inner tempest of emotion.

The door whirred shut behind her with a finality that made her feel both cold and numb. Allura realized once she was inside the command post, she no longer felt afraid. She moved slowly around the outside of the room, touching the backs of the chairs and eyeing the darkened computer consoles as she had done the last time she was near him.

"You changed your clothes." Lotor’s voice was low and quiet. His tone demanded nothing of her; he simply observed her.

Allura stilled.

Her hand clenched the back of the chair it rested upon. She exhaled and braced herself before turning to face him.

"Yes," she said simply.

"And you're armed," he spoke again, his eyes glancing briefly but politely from her pistol to the key on her uniform before looking back to her. He stood beside his chair, watching her with a fevered, concerned hunger as she moved.

"I'm ready to fight," she explained bluntly. "You won't catch me off guard this time." Her right hand draped by her right hip with her fingertips a twitch away from drawing her weapon.

"Fight for what?" His question was cold and sounded hollow to her ears.

"Everything. This is how it always is, isn't it?" She made a soft noise and closed her eyes, bringing her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. As she turned her face away from him, she shook her head once and exhaled. "I spoke out of anger just then," she said apologetically.

"As you should have," he said carefully.

Allura gasped softly and opened her eyes. She turned to look at him with a guarded, wary expression as her hand dropped back to her side.

"What do you mean?"

Lotor flinched. Her words were very careful and controlled. His hand gripped the back of the commander's chair so tightly that he felt the chair warp slightly under his hold. It was all he could do to hold himself back from going to her.

It was the prince's turn to look away as he muttered something under his breath. He missed the incredulous expression that blossomed unchecked across Allura's face.

"What did you just say?" Her hand came to rest on her chest as her breath caught in her lungs. When Lotor didn't respond, she took a careful step toward him. "Did you just say what I think you said?"

He grumbled an assent, refusing to make eye contact as she approached slowly.

"Did you just say… 'I was wrong'?"

Lotor's eyes snapped to Allura's and she paused a few feet away.

"No! Of course not! I'm never wrong!" His golden eyes flashed dangerously. Allura wasn't daunted by the faux anger on his face. She understood how strong his Drule pride was, how deep the culture ran. She simply did her best to keep from smiling.

"Of course, I must have misunderstood," she said softly, biting down on her bottom lip to trap her giggle. A strange sensation flooded her; a combination of giddiness, relief and awe replaced the resentment she had been harboring toward him. No explanation or apology would have quelled her fire and rekindled her trust more than the muttered words he had just offered.

The nature of the admission was so voraciously counter to him and his culture that she couldn't help but believe it. It was not a lie he would ever tell for  _any_  reason: it was a truth that carried a shame he couldn't bear to whisper.

Except to her.

His eyes flickered between the decadent bite on her lip and her mischievous eyes as if he were trying to read her mind before he gave up completely.

"Tch," he hissed out, flopping back into the commander's chair irritably. "We'll be in Sector L in twenty-one hours," he changed the subject quickly while typing on the control panel.

Lotor forced his body to relax but his heart still caught when Allura shuffled closer to him. Her scent invaded his senses as she hovered just over his right shoulder.

"We're still on schedule," she commented. He stilled as a thrill ran down his spine. Her voice was intoxicating. "We didn't slow down."

"We don't have the crew to," he said dryly, fighting to keep his body relaxed in her presence. He knew from the impish look in her eyes that she didn't believe his excuse, but she had the courtesy not to mention it. He continued to type absently on the keyboard in an attempt to keep his mind distracted.

Various panels and readouts from different aspects of the ship flashed across the screen in front of him. It was all useless information – the water supply, air flow, kitchen temperature – but it gave him something to focus on other than the delicate bundle of sunshine just within his reach.

"Why are you looking at a map of the empty cabin bunks?"

Lotor cursed and killed the power to the screen before turning to look up at her suddenly.

They both froze immediately.

Even with his height, Lotor sat a shoulder lower than Allura while in the chair. Her palm rested on his right armrest while she looked down to him, their noses nearly touching. Her eyes searched his fervently, but his serpentine irises never gave anything away.

Lotor swallowed. He hadn't realized how close she had physically come until he turned to look at her. Her presence enveloped him – she was near enough to his face that the fly-away wisps of her hair brushed his cheek.

"Lotor," Allura began. Her voice was soft. His entire body tensed at the gentle sound of his name on her lips.

"Yes, my sweet?" He answered her after a moment of heated silence beat between them. His own voice wavered slightly. He stayed perfectly still while the fever in his body climbed, urging him to move.

"I'm… not sure, honestly." Allura gave the only answer that she could.

With calculated slowness, he shifted. His body turned to face her more fully, and with an uncharacteristic tenderness, he reached for her cheek. She stiffened slightly in response and he marked the widening of her eyes, but she did not step away as he rose to his feet.

As Lotor gently cupped her cheek, Allura released a shaky exhale. Her heart hammered in her chest like a percussionist striking a war drum. The princess was certain he could hear it in the silence between them. She didn't even realize her bottom lip was trembling until she felt his gloved thumb brush it lightly. Her entire body shook in response as he gently guided her face closer to his.

She flinched at the movement but didn't pull back; only closed her eyes and braced.

It took the strength of all the unholy demons to divert his course the second he realized her alarm. She was anticipating one movement but he could see she hoped against it. The gentle princess was giving him a chance and she was terrified of what he would do.

Allura's eyes popped open as she gasped when Lotor surprised her.

His lips brushed gently against her forehead while his hand still cradled her cheek. The sudden intake of air reminded her to breathe. Lotor chuckled darkly against her skin as he reluctantly pulled away while Allura caught her breath. He released her cheek and eased back into his chair, smirking at her.

"Why, I didn't think I could steal your breath," he commented arrogantly. Allura turned from a delightful shade of a pink to a luscious crimson at the taunt. She scowled at him playfully in response, internally grateful for the break from the intensity of the moment.

"You'd steal anything that wasn't nailed down, you rogue," she bantered back. His smirk split into a genuine, evil grin as the tips of his fangs showed.

"That's accurate."

She blushed softly as she stepped back away from him, folding her arms self conscious across her chest.

"Twenty-one hours," she commented off-handedly. She caught the pang of tension that laced his face. It was fleeting, gone a second after it appeared, but unmistakable.

"What brought you to the bridge? I was certain I had frightened you," he looked away from her and changed the subject slightly. He did not wish to focus on the rapidly decreasing hourglass of time he had left with her.

"I thought you were never wrong," she murmured playfully, still loitering near the armrest of his chair.

"You tease me," he said, reaching out. His hand snagged her wrist suddenly and tugged her toward him. He knew he was pushing the limit on what she would tolerate, but to his relief, her cry of surprise was quickly followed by laughter as he pulled her into his lap. She gasped sharply and uttered a string of names ranging from rogue to brute between laughs.

Allura turned a flaming shade of pink as she squirmed away from him before eventually settling her delightful backside on the armrest next to him. He was struck by the strange moment passing between them. The lovely Arusian princess was perched delicately on the side of his command chair of her own free will and consent, still stifling her laughter.

"That was fair," she finally admitted, once she calmed down and settled her mirth. She smoothed down her hair pinned back in a bun before glancing down at him primly. In turn, he lounged leisurely against the arm rest she wasn't sitting upon so that he could gaze up at her easily.

His breath caught at her magnificence. Allura was utterly earth-shattering, and she was seated beside and even _smiling_ at him.

"But really, what brought you back?" He regretted turning the tone darker and he missed the light of her face as soon as her smile slipped from her features, but he needed more information. She looked away and stared out one of the large windows.

"Tiken played a small role when he met me at my room, but really… strangely…" She trailed off, another smile twitching at her lips as she remembered the unusual talk with the witch. "Haggar did most of it."

"Haggar?" His tone conveyed his disbelief.

Allura turned to look at him and had never seen him more wide-eyed or surprised in her life. She hadn't been certain the prince was capable of being caught as off-guard as he was now. She nodded numbly in response.

"Yes, she found my hiding place and we talked for a little under an hour, I think," she explained.

"…And. What exactly did you talk about?" Lotor's interest piqued to a new level when Allura blushed in response.

"Mostly about you," she admitted _._  

His heart stilled.

"What… about me?" His concern elevated a little as she shifted uncomfortably.

"She called you an idiot."

"Well, that's nothing new," he exhaled, feeling slightly more relieved.

"We talked about your father – and mine," she continued. Lotor grew quiet and watched her closely as she glanced away, her hands fidgeting in her lap. He waited for her to continue. The minutes of silence were agonizing. "Lotor," she paused. He waited as patiently as he possibly could while she wrung her hands nervously in her lap.

"Yes?" He couldn't hold back his silence when she didn't speak right away.

"What was your mother like?"

Both her curious, worried gaze and the question itself slammed into him like a sledgehammer. He felt the wind leave his lungs and he struggled to compose himself. Lotor reached out and grabbed on to Allura's arm as she slid off the armrest and started to back away. He just shook his head once.

"It's fine, I wasn't expecting the question, don't be frightened," he said, catching his breath. Allura calmed the struggle against his hold and returned to stand beside him in the chair. With reticence, he released her forearm. A foreign warmth bloomed in his peripheral when he realized she didn’t continue her retreat.

"I’m sorry, Haggar didn't say anything about her, which is why I was curious. If it's not-" He cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"It's fine. My mother was…" he trailed off, exhaling as he searched for the right word. He paused and glanced to her. "-remember I'm speaking from a societal standpoint, Allura. My mother was an absolute failure." He watched and, as he predicted, Allura's eyes widened to the size of saucers. She took a small step backward, her hands coming up to cover her mouth.

"No! That's terrible!"

"I don't mean she was a terrible woman. I mean she was a terrible Drule, trying to fit into a world she didn’t belong in," he explained. He smiled wistfully as Allura's shock faded to confusion. "She… was kind, Allura. Drules don't tolerate kind very well. It's weak."

"Kindness isn't weak! Compassion takes courage-"

"You, my dear, are the first to have ever demonstrated both compassion and strength in the same instant. Kindness means doing what you're told, pleasing everyone - breaking yourself. It means giving everything when you can. That's not the case for you," he said, watching her carefully.

"My mother," he continued. "She was very quickly consumed by the nobility. It was unfortunate that my father found her. He utterly shattered her… literally," he said darkly, a shadow of a memory eclipsing his face.

Allura frowned, reaching to touch his shoulder.

“I’m sorry for what happened to her – and to you,” she added.  A memory hovered in his mind, just out of reach of her knowledge.  “But.  You must not say it was terrible to have happened. It was… terrible for her, and I’m… I’m sorry for your loss,” she added, squeezing her hand comfortingly.  “But had it not been for her, you wouldn’t exist.”

Lotor fixed her with an unreadable expression before placing his other hand on top of hers.

"Like I said," he redirected. "She was… not able to merge well with our society. She was too soft, in the end. Never before you have I seen such softness coupled with such ferocity," he murmured before reaching up to touch her cheek. He grinned after a moment when she stepped back shyly.

“There’s still more you haven’t told me, isn’t there?”

“There is,” he nodded once, a strange, curious light flickering behind his eyes.  For a fraction of a second, Allura wondered if he entertained the idea of sharing it all.  She smiled gently in response, acquiescing her advance.

"Thank you for entertaining my questions, I apologize if they were too personal," she said, tucking a stray wisp of hair behind her ear, finding herself strangely flattered he had divulged as much as he had.

"No. But. I am interested in returning the favor. What was  _your_  mother like? What planet bore the sovereign that captured the great King Alfor's heart?"

Allura stared at him, stunned for a moment.

"Why, Arus did." She tilted her head to the side, eyeing the prince carefully. "My mother – Aurora – was born to a village. She wasn't royalty. She met my father when," she paused, giggling. "When he was riding through the village and something spooked his horse. He was thrown – though he wouldn't ever admit that – and she rushed to help him to his feet. He always said that the moment he looked into her eyes, he just _knew_. He knew that was the woman he would marry someday. And he did," she finished, smiling wistfully.

Lotor watched her incredulously, unable to hide his surprise behind his usual arrogance. "Queen Aurora was born a commoner?"

"The Arus royal line has had very little regard for lineage. Many planets pride themselves on princes marrying princesses, uniting planets and creating trade networks. Arus has always been a bit… _wilder_... in that regard. My father married the woman he loved and it mattered neither to him nor the people of Arus that she wasn't of royal descent. I wish she had been around longer and I could have gotten to know her," she trailed off quietly. "Coran says I look like her, but that I act more like my father."

"You didn't know her?" Allura glanced over to him as he spoke. She shook her head once.

"She passed away when I was very young.  … _Very_ young. I have vague memories of Father speaking of her, but… I don't know what she was like as a person. The people of Arus speak highly of her, though, so I am honored to call her my mother in that regard. I hope to grow into half the lady she was revered as."

She tossed him a smile when she caught sight of his tense look.

"We'll be at the junction soon," he commented.

"Lotor," she began, pausing as she considered her words.

"Not that I'm discouraging you to say that, I've grown rather fond of hearing you say my name," he began, grinning as she blushed. "But I've noticed you say it often."

"I…" she paused, recalibrating her words. "I don't… yet know quite how to talk to you. Days ago we wouldn't have even had a conversation to begin with. You would have given an order, I would have slapped you, and… we would have gone from there. I don't… I'm afraid I haven't yet figured everything out just yet."

"Allura," he commented, brushing his palm against her arm gently.

"Why did Zarkon lock you in the dungeon," she blurted out suddenly, fixing him with her wide eyes. The hand touching her arm stilled before going back to stroking her gently. He relished the warmth of her skin, even through her flight suit. Never before had he had the luxury of touching her so openly without the constant threat of a strike to his face.

"He and I don't always agree on things," he explained vaguely. She pressed her lips together in response. He could read the thoughts from her mind as it raced to fill in the blanks. She wanted to know, he could tell, but was weighing whether it was worth it to ask.

"What was it?" She pressed him.

"It's not important," he finally admitted, his jaw tightening.

"But why did-"

"It doesn't matter! He won't ever understand me," he growled out, his hand tightening around her arm. He paused, exhaled and released her without any further explanation. She rubbed her arm absentmindedly.

"You're not like him," she commented quietly.

"I should be!" His anger mounted and he only began to deflate when he saw the frightened look in her eyes.

He froze.

"Please don't say that. Please don't ever say you mean that," she whispered.

"Allura," he murmured her name, coming up from the commander seat. Ignoring all repercussions, he reached out and grasped her shoulders, bringing her into his embrace. "Regardless of what I want, I am... I am not like him." She shivered against him.

"He scares me," she admitted, allowing him to hold her.

"I know," he murmured into her hair. A moment passed between them as he cradled her form against him. "He should," he added. She stiffened slightly and stepped back from him, surprised that he relinquished his hold on her.

"Anyway," she said shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear, a nervous tick she found herself doing with increasing frequency around him. "We still have several hours," she replied, moving back to his side. "You could show me the rest of the navigation systems… since you so rudely interrupted the lesson I was having with Tiken." She smiled genuinely at him and came to stand behind the command chair. She rested her forearms across the back of it as he looked over his shoulder at her in surprise before sitting down. He smirked and nodded once before pulling up the screen in front of him. Time was short and quickly running out, but he intended to grasp every moment of it while he could.

 


	8. Epilogue

Allura took a deep breath before looking out the window. All her anxiety, fear and concern had built up to a single moment; the vessel had docked at an enormous cargo junction. Hundreds of other ships were docking on all different levels and crew members came and went in a frantic rush to keep on schedule while cargo was transferred.

Allura waited patiently.

Nervously.

She physically felt the moment that the transport decompressed and the hatch doors opened. A hollow, mechanical sound ran the length of the ship as all the exterior doors and hatches released their emergency seals. Lotor stood tensely at her side, waiting for the main doors to open. She glanced over her shoulder and looked up at him. The moment was upon them and she waited to see his reaction.

He glanced down as soon as he felt her eyes on her and his jaw tensed. An unreadable emotion flickered across his eyes before disappearing completely when the main doors unlocked. He gestured for her to go first and watched with a strange wistfulness as she quickly bounded off the ship, looking around eagerly for her companions.

Relief flooded her to a capacity that nearly made her giddy. 

_He_ **_did_ ** _keep his word!_

Allura caught sight of her commander far before he saw her. Her body collided with his and her arms wrapped around his shoulders just as he realized who was assaulting him. Keith's arms were strong and fierce around her body in return, his head bowed low over hers. Neither said anything to each other, but a chorus of "Princess!" rose up behind them when the other Space Explorers realized she had been found.

Keith exhaled into her hair, his arms tightening around her and pulling her even closer.

"I thought you were lost," he whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." Allura startled, surprised by the unusual affection from her commander. A strange, uncomfortable sensation curled in her – as if she were betraying someone else to hear the promise.  She smiled awkwardly and gave his shoulders a squeeze before trying to step back. With reluctance, he released her as if afraid she would disappear again.

Allura smiled up at her comrades as they circled around her excitedly. She wrapped her arms around Lance for a quick hug.

"Careful, Hunk!" Allura cried out worriedly as her tank of a co-pilot went to lift her into the air. "It still hurts a little," she admitted sheepishly. Hunk murmured and apology and settled for a shoulder hug.

"Where are the people who helped you? I want to thank them," Keith asked after the commotion died down.

"I'm not so sure that you do," Allura muttered under her breath.

"Of course I do. They saved your life. They did what I should have been able to do but couldn't," he looked at her fiercely, a sense of pride on his face. "At the very least I want to shake their hand. I owe them that much."

Allura's face strained into a false smile as she tried to imagine Keith giving Lotor a hug.

"I'm sure they're busy getting ready for re-launch," she said tensely. "Don't worry, I made sure to let them know how grateful I was. We can send them a gift once we get back to Arus," she supplied quickly as Keith started to scan the people running around.

The bustling center was full of mostly uniformed, non-military personnel as they hauled cargo or moved briskly to their next station. The Voltron force was gathering some attention as some of the tradesmen recognized the fighting force's bright uniforms. Some waved, some saluted, others just pointed the party out to the person they were walking next to.

"I just want to see, just a moment," he continued to scan as Allura shifted uncomfortably.

"Princess, what are you so worried about?" Pidge's voice piped up as Allura tried to lead Keith to where the lions were docked.

"How's Blue Lion?" She changed the subject quickly, tugging on her commander's hand.

"Princess, why are you so-" When Keith stopped talking suddenly, Allura just sighed and surrendered, dropping his hand.

He knew.

"You have  _got_  to be kidding me," he choked out.

Allura glanced up to look in the direction Keith was staring. As she predicted, Lotor, Haggar and Tiken had disembarked and lingered near the hatch as if discussing where they were headed next. Keith leveled Allura with a look. "Tell me it wasn't him."

The princess only shrugged helplessly at him in response.

Keith cursed and turned. His hand hovered over his pistol as he marched swiftly toward the three loitering Drules.

"Keith, don't!" Allura called after him, her hands coming to cover her mouth in alarm. Lance placed a hand on her shoulder to keep the princess from rushing after the commander.

Lotor turned as Allura's voice echoed across the large room. He had expected the Voltron Force would have carted the princess off after a brief welcome and instead he found the commander himself storming toward him.

Tiken drew his saber and Lotor just nudged him lightly.

"Put it away. If this escalates, he is mine to deal with," he murmured quietly to his entourage.

"Sire," Tiken responded and sheathed his weapon. "Would you like me to go back on the vessel and get the-"

"Yes," he instructed. Tiken nodded and bowed before his prince before reboarding the trade vessel behind them.

Keith came to stand in front of Lotor and Haggar as he glared at both of them.

"I get it now. I absolutely understand what happened. You take a cheap shot at her so you can be her hero," he ground out between clenched teeth. Lotor startled but waved Haggar off as the witch began to speak. Keith continued. "She could have  _died._ "

"Yes, she could have," he responded dangerously. Both men were tense and itching to draw their weapons, but they continued to use restraint in the busy harbor.

"I can't believe you would sink that low to orchestrate this whole thing," he continued to seethe at the prince. "A lot of my questions are now answered," he added, beginning to calm down. "But two remain. Why did you bring her back?"

"Her injuries will require further care. It's not something that can be easily handled on Castle Doom," Lotor explained dismissively. Keith missed the confused look Haggar gave her prince. Fury rolled off the commander as he glared at the man he felt responsible for Allura's dangerous condition.

"Keith!" The princess's strained voice from the background caught his attention. Lotor glanced up, surprised by the concern on Allura's face. "Just stop it!" The commander's face remained impassive until she pleaded gently. " _Please._ "

Lance still held her arm as gently as he could, urging her to stay with the rest of the team.

"Princess," he murmured as his demeanor softened.

"I want to go home now," she said gently. "Can we?"

Keith just sighed again and shook his head once. He glanced back to Lotor with a bitter look.

"For someone you claim to love-"

" _Keith._ "

Allura's quiet voice sounded by his side. His head snapped over to look as the princess came to stand beside him before the Drules. She shook her head once. "It's not like that. Let's go home. I'll explain on the way, alright?" Keith shot Lance a wary look and the carefree pilot just shrugged.

"What? She was going to slap me! I didn't want that," he explained while hooking his thumbs through his belt loops. Lotor had to fight the chuckle that blossomed from within.

"Thank you both, and please tell Tiken- Oh!" Allura stopped mid-sentence as the man in question appeared.

"I went back to fetch this. It was left on the dresser in your room," he said, holding out the damaged pink helmet. Allura took it gently between her hands, running her gloved fingers over the deep scratches in the side. She could feel Keith stiffen in horror beside her.

"Thank you," she said genuinely, tracing the crack along the glass visor. She glanced to Keith's pale face. "Don't look like that. It's why we were helmets." She nodded and tucked the damaged headwear under her arm and looked back to the prince.

"Thank you, again. For everything," she smiled genuinely to him before shifting her gaze to Haggar. "You know, if you ever decided to use your magic for good, you would be incredible with it," she said playfully. Haggar let out a dark cackle in response.

"I think it is beyond that time for me, dearie. " She shook her cloaked head and patted the princess on the hand. "Mind the wound. It's on the mend now, but nothing strenuous for the next few days." Allura nodded at the witch's advice before looking to Tiken.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Tiken. I hope I don't see you again next across the battlefield," she said earnestly.

He nodded once and bowed before her.

She gave a smile to the trio before turning to Keith.

"I'm tired. Let's go back to Arus now." She turned and began making her way toward the rest of the Voltron Force. Keith cast Lotor one last, suspicious look before following behind the princess.

Lotor watched as the five made their way down the corridor to another docking platform. As they disappeared from sight, Lotor lingered. Haggar tossed him a speculative look, but he missed it as he made his way to one of the large pane windows overlooking the sky outside.

"What's he waiting for?" Tiken looked to Haggar. The witch just nodded.

"We'll just give him a minute. Did you send the transmitter for the coffin ships?"

"Yes, they are docked on level B, waiting for us. Why did he let their commander make those assumptions? None were correct," Tiken inquired. He glanced back to his prince. Lotor let out a low exhale as four lion ships launched from level D and made their way back to Arus. Once the feline warships had become pinpricks of light in the distance, Lotor finally turned away from the glass.

"Your guess is as good as mine on that," she admitted dryly as the prince approached them again.

"Are the ships ready?"

"Yes, Sire," Haggar said. "Up a flight deck." Lotor just nodded quietly.

"Let's go," he said sharply, his face once more becoming an impassive mask of arrogance that everyone was familiar with.

Haggar and Tiken followed suit, the three boarding the private vessels to take them back to Planet Doom. As he settled into the coffin ship and programmed the flight course, he let his mind wonder. He worried about Allura's injuries, but Haggar had assured him they would be fine. He wondered what she must think of him.

Coward?

Weak?

He sighed as the hum of the vessel surrounded him.  _No_ , he reminded himself.  _Those are things another Drule would think. Not her._  His lips curled into a smirk as he realized Haggar had been right the entire time – despite returning to Doom without her, he far closer than he had ever been before to winning her hand.

That alone was worth any hell that was waiting for him from his father. He chuckled softly to himself and relaxed for the rest of the voyage.


End file.
